Aazh H. and Stevens J. and Moore B.C.J.
January 2022
In their new paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, Dr Hashir Aazh and his collaborators studied the incidence of the perception of tinnitus in dreams among patients seeking help for tinnitus and/or hyperacusis.
Hearing Tinnitus in Dreams
Dr Hashir Aazh, Jenni Stevens (Royal Surrey County Hospital) and Professor Brian Moore (University of Cambridge) studied the incidence of the perception of tinnitus in dreams among patients seeking help for tinnitus and/or hyperacusis and to assess whether this is related to the severity of tinnitus and/or hyperacusis. This was a retrospective study. The data for 148 consecutive adult patients who attended a tinnitus/hyperacusis clinic in the United Kingdom were included. The average age of the patients was 56 years (standard deviation [SD] = 15 years).
Results showed that 5 percent of patients (7/148) reported hearing tinnitus in their dreams. There was a trend for patients who reported hearing tinnitus in their dreams to be younger (mean age = 46 years, SD = 15 years) than those who did not (mean age = 57 years, SD = 15 years). The mean scores for the tinnitus questionnaires were significantly higher (worse) for patients who reported hearing tinnitus in their dreams than for those who did not.
To sum up, a small proportion of patients reported hearing tinnitus in their dreams and this was associated with higher tinnitus handicap as measured via the tinnitus handicap inventory. These preliminary results may indicate that those who are greatly affected by their tinnitus are more likely to hear it in their dreams or to be woken by it. Future studies should use methods that can be used to reliably assess if and when tinnitus is perceived during the sleep cycle, using more physiological measures and testing a wider population.
Source: Aazh H, Stevens J, Moore BCJ. Preliminary Examination of the Incidence of and Factors Related to Hearing Tinnitus in Dreams. J Am Acad Audiol. 2021 Feb;32(2):76-82.
Click here to access the source: https://www.thieme-connect.de/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-0040-1718929
