A preliminary investigation of potential cognitive performance decrements in non-help-seeking tinnitus sufferers

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the possible impact of tinnitus on the performance of challenging cognitive tasks.

Design: Participants completed the hospital anxiety and depression scale and completed two cognitive tasks: the Vienna determination task and a variant of the Stroop paradigm. In addition, tinnitus sufferers completed the subjective tinnitus severity scale. Study sample: Thirty-three tinnitus sufferers and 33 controls took part in the study (n = 66).

Results: Tinnitus sufferers were no more depressed nor anxious than controls, but they performed less well on both cognitive tasks.

Conclusions: Possible causes and implications of these performance decrements are discussed, with particular attention given to the possibility that subjective distress is an important moderating factor in tinnitus sufferers.