4 ms·

> Around 15% of the world’s population suffers from tinnitus As someone who has had chronic and constant tinnitus for nearly two decades I find this claim pret

> Around 15% of the world’s population suffers from tinnitus As someone who has had chronic and constant tinnitus for nearly two decades I find this claim pretty questionable, or at least not clearly articulated (following through to the linked Lancet article didn't help much). Whenever I mention this fact in conversation people seem horrified, and in the sample "nearly everyone I have known for years" never encountered anyone who replies with "oh yea, same here". I'm assuming that 15% of the world's population does not suffer from constant/chronic tinnitus, but I would also expect far greater than 15% has ever had tinnitus, so I'm not sure what this number means. The linked Lancet article didn't offer much help and mostly references a handbook that doesn't appear to be trivially findable online. Curious if anyone has discovered some clarification around this?

dazc 4y ago
I have tinnitus, nobody ever asked me though. Any figure quoted is likley bullshit.
hotpotamus 4y ago
I'd say there are tons of weird semi-medical things that people have that are basically benign that they just live with. I've had bouts with tinnitus; I went to the gun range with my cousin who I've known my whole life and mentioned the importance of hearing protection and to try and keep my tinnitus minimized. He mentioned he has the same issue. I also had what has been called "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome" as a child where I had strange sensations of my body feeling larger or smaller when going to sleep. I never thought much of it, but eventually I heard that it happens to other people too.
dahart 4y ago
The link does clarify a bit about what they mean. “the scatter of prevalence estimates is wide, although most study results have shown rates of between 10% and 15% of the adult population. The largest and most scientifically reliable study was undertaken as part of the National Study of Hearing in England (n=48 313).3 The results of the study showed a prevalence of 10·1% among adults, with the tinnitus described as moderately annoying by 2·8% of respondents, severely annoying by 1·6%, and at a level that severely affected ability to lead a normal life by 0·5%. Results from studies in Egypt,4 Japan,5 and Nigeria,6 indicate tinnitus prevalence is broadly similar in these countries to in Europe and the USA.”

dazc 4y ago

I have tinnitus, nobody ever asked me though. Any figure quoted is likley bullshit.

hotpotamus 4y ago

I'd say there are tons of weird semi-medical things that people have that are basically benign that they just live with. I've had bouts with tinnitus; I went to the gun range with my cousin who I've known my whole life and mentioned the importance of hearing protection and to try and keep my tinnitus minimized. He mentioned he has the same issue. I also had what has been called "Alice in Wonderland Syndrome" as a child where I had strange sensations of my body feeling larger or smaller when going to sleep. I never thought much of it, but eventually I heard that it happens to other people too.

dahart 4y ago

The link does clarify a bit about what they mean. “the scatter of prevalence estimates is wide, although most study results have shown rates of between 10% and 15% of the adult population. The largest and most scientifically reliable study was undertaken as part of the National Study of Hearing in England (n=48 313).3 The results of the study showed a prevalence of 10·1% among adults, with the tinnitus described as moderately annoying by 2·8% of respondents, severely annoying by 1·6%, and at a level that severely affected ability to lead a normal life by 0·5%. Results from studies in Egypt,4 Japan,5 and Nigeria,6 indicate tinnitus prevalence is broadly similar in these countries to in Europe and the USA.”