Tinnitus and hearing in 7-year-old children.

Background: Tinnitus occurs with or without prior noise exposure (noise-induced tinnitus (NIT) and spontaneous tinnitus (ST)), and is considered a symptom related to permanent hearing impairment (HI) or temporary hearing threshold shift (TTS).

Objective: To carry out a cross-sectional interview study on TTS, ST and NIT during a standard audiometric screening of 756 7-year-old children in Gothenburg.

Results: 41% out of 756 children reported either NIT or ST on several occasions, 17% reported recurrent TTS and 7% failed the audiometry screening.

Tinnitus in the general population with a focus on noise and stress: a public health study.

Objectives: To evaluate the influence of noise and stress on the probability of tinnitus in the general population.

Design: Questionnaire data were obtained from 12,166 subjects.

Results: Each year of age increased the odds ratio of tinnitus by about 3%.

Fast-track care for patients with suspected hip fracture.

Patients over 65 years of age with suspected hip fracture following low-energy trauma often wait a long time for examinations, X-rays, tests and surgery. There may be a connection between long waiting times and complications, including severe pain, mental confusion, infection, pressure sores, and longer hospital stays. This study examines whether implementing prehospital preoperative procedures might lead to reduced waiting times, less postoperative pain, fewer complications and shorter length of care for this patient group.

Relationship between tinnitus severity and psychiatric disorders.

A close association between tinnitus and psychiatric disorders has been demonstrated, but little is known about how the severity of tinnitus is related to these disorders. The authors investigated the strength of the association between tinnitus and both the prevalence and severity of anxiety and depressive disorders. One study group consisted of 80 consecutive patients and another of 144 patients who were deemed by screening to be at high risk for severe and disabling tinnitus.