One in Seven Adults in the EU Hear the Phantom Ring: A Tinnitus Tale

Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

The study found that 14.7% of adults in 12 EU countries experience tinnitus, with prevalence ranging from 8.7% in Ireland to 28.3% in Bulgaria. Tinnitus prevalence increased with age and hearing difficulty, and varied significantly between countries, with higher rates observed in Eastern European countries with lower GDP.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists found that many grown-ups in Europe, about 1 in 7, sometimes hear ringing or buzzing sounds that aren't real, which is called tinnitus. More older people and those who can't hear well have it, and it's more common in some countries than others.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

DAH provides scientific consultancy for Neuromod Devices Ltd and receives honoraria from Elsevier. WS has affiliations with Lenox UG, Pansatori GmbH, Sivantos, and the Tinnitus Research Initiative (TRI).

Identified Limitations

Small sample size for severe tinnitus

The sample size for the severe tinnitus category was small in some countries, which could affect the reliability of prevalence estimates for this specific group.

Self-reported data

The study relied on self-reported data for tinnitus and hearing difficulty, which can be subject to recall bias and underreporting.

Limited risk factor assessment

The study did not collect detailed information on all potential risk factors for tinnitus, such as noise exposure and ototoxic medications, limiting the ability to fully explore the causes of the observed prevalence differences.

Limited age range in some countries

The age range of participants was limited in Greece and Latvia, which may affect the generalizability of the findings to the entire adult population in these countries.

Rating Explanation

This is a strong study with a large sample size and standardized methodology across multiple countries, providing valuable insights into tinnitus prevalence in Europe. However, the limitations related to self-reported data and the small sample size for severe tinnitus warrant a slightly lower rating than 5.

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Life Sciences

Field: Neuroscience

Subfield: Sensory Systems

File Information

Original Title: Tinnitus prevalence in Europe: a multi-country cross-sectional population study

Uploaded: July 14, 2025 at 11:12 AM

Privacy: Public