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Suicidal ideation in people with tinnitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2021

B V Tailor ,
R E Thompson ,
I Nunney ,
M Agius  and
J S Phillips
B V Tailor*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital National Health Service Foundation Trust, Norwich
R E Thompson
Affiliation:
School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge
I Nunney
Affiliation:
Norwich Clinical Trials Unit, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia,
M Agius
Affiliation:
Center for Mental Health Research in Association with the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
J S Phillips
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital National Health Service Foundation Trust, Norwich
*
Author for correspondence: Dr B V Tailor, Department of Otolaryngology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Colney Lane, NorwichNR4 7UY, UK E-mail: Bhavesh.tailor@cantab.net
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Abstract

Objective

Tinnitus is associated with a variety of cognitive, psychosocial and psychiatric disorders, and may contribute to suicidality. However, the prevalence of suicidal ideation (SI) in tinnitus populations has not previously been systematically reviewed.

Method

Medline, Embase and PsychInfo were searched in August 2020 to identify studies that assessed suicidal ideation in people aged 16 years and above with subjective tinnitus.

Results

Six cross-sectional studies were included, representing 7192 tinnitus sufferers across 4 countries. The pooled prevalence of suicidal ideation in tinnitus populations was 20.6 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval, 10.8–30.3 per cent; I2 = 88 per cent). Two studies included a control population, in which the prevalence of suicidal ideation was significantly lower. The quality of included studies was variable.

Conclusion

It is not possible to arrive at any reasonable conclusion given the lack of quality studies, meaning the pooled prevalence should be interpreted very cautiously. Suicidal ideation may be more prevalent in tinnitus populations. Further large-scale epidemiological research investigating this relationship is needed, which may help psychiatric risk stratification.

Keywords

TinnitusSuicideSuicidal IdeationPrevalence
Type
Review Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 135 , Issue 12 , December 2021 , pp. 1042 - 1050
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

Dr B V Tailor takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

Presented at Student and Foundation Doctors in Otolaryngology Conference, 12 October 2019, Birmingham, UK, and as a poster at Inner Ear Anatomy and the Matthew Yung short paper prize meeting, The Royal Society of Medicine, 7 February 2020, London, UK.

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