The impact of tinnitus on quality of life is poorly understood. There are individual reports of suicide cases, but large studies are lacking. We now published a short report which shows that an increased risk of suicide attempts in a representative population from the Stockholm area is associated with tinnitus and that this risk exists in women but not in men. Of note, we show that for those who have received special care, this risk is gone. Our study highlights the benefits of special care to reduce the risk of suicide attempts and emphasizes the need of greater resources for tinnitus rehabilitation, especially in Sweden.
However, we would like to inform you that suicide attempts do not mean completed suicides. Although suicidal ideation is common, suicide attempts are less frequent, even less so for suicide. Studies of completed suicides would require large national studies to achieve sufficient effect and determine the effect of tinnitus on this.
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Reference
"Sex-Specific Association of Tinnitus With Suicide Attempts"
JAMA Otol 2019 May 02. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2019.0566
