ICD-10 Symptom Rating questionnaire for assessment of psychological comorbidities in patients with chronic tinnitus

Abstract

Background: Tinnitus frequently occurs alongside psychological comorbidities whose assessment is important for treatment planning and -success. The selection of suitable questionnaires is thus crucial. The present study aims to investigate the ICD-10 Symptom Rating (ISR) to this regard. Methods: The current study investigated tinnitus burden and psychological comorbidities in a sample of N = 311 patients with chronic tinnitus. All participants completed an intensive 7‑day multimodal tinnitus-specific therapy. Tinnitus burden was measured using the German version of the Tinnitus Questionnaire (TQ). Psychological comorbidities were measured using the ISR (total score, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, somatoform disorder, and eating disorder), the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ; total score, tension, worries, joy, and demands), and the General Depression Scale (Allgemeine Depressionsskala, ADS). Results: Sixty-five percent of participants suffered from psychological comorbidities. Treatment response comprised improvements in the TQ, ISQ, PSQ and ADS. At baseline, tinnitus-burden correlated with the ISR-total, ISR-obsessive-compulsive disorder and PSQ-tension scores. Post treatment, the—now reduced—tinnitus burden was additionally predicted by ISR-depressive and eating disorder scores. Conclusion: The ISR is a useful tool for measuring psychological comorbidities in patients with chronic tinnitus as well as short-term treatment response. Therapeutic approaches for chronic tinnitus should address stress-related tension, depressive symptomatology and coping strategies such as maladaptive eating behaviours.