이명에 의한 장애 정도와 삶의 질에 미치는 영향

Background and Objectives: Tinnitus is a multifaceted disorder that can affect an individual’s hearing, health, emotion and life style. This study was designed to investigate the relations between tinnitus and the handicap of daily lives and the quality of life. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 110 patients with tinnitus, who had visited our clinic, from 1999 October to 2000 March. We performed the audiometric tests, tinnitus studies such as pitch match, loudness balance test and also checked the general characteristics of tinnitus. The degree of handicap of tinnitus and quality of life were measured using preformed questionnaires. Relationships between tinnitus intensity and degree of handcap of tinnitus, quality of life were analized by t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: Sixty percents of the patients complained the tinnitus for whole days. The intensity of tinnitus was various between 15-85 dB (HL), most commonly 15-30 dB (HL) for both sides. The mean score of the handicap of tinnitus was 114.61 ±56.81 (5 -259) and there was no difference between uniaural and biaural tinnitus in the handicap. The intensity of tinnitus was related with the handicap positively (r=0.303, p <0.001). On quality of life, the average score was 141.65±21.70 (97-233). Also, there was significant relationship between the handicap of tinnitus score and the quality of life negatively (r= -0.314, p<0. 001). Conclusion: Tinnitus could be influenced on patients’ quality of life. However, even under the stressful conditions, some patients showed relatively high quality of life. For improving the quality of life, we think that new treatment method that can modify the patient’s faith and attitude about tinnitus is required. (J Clinical Otolaryngol 2002;13:50–55)