The role of tinnitus distress in the development of somatization symptoms among patients: implications for health care in Pakistan

• Date: 11 January 2022
• Pages: 341-351
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-09-2021-0183
• Published date: 11 January 2022
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Inequalities & diverse/minority groups,Sociology,Race & ethnic studies,Minorities,Multiculturalism,Racial identity,Work,economy & organizations
• Author: Ammar Ahmed,Naeem Aslam

The role of tinnitus distress in the

development of somatization symptoms

among patients: implications for health

care in Pakistan

Ammar Ahmed and Naeem Aslam

Abstract

Purpose –Tinnitus patients are among the most vulnerable grou p to develop psychopathological symptoms

over time if left unresolved. This study aims to investigate th e role of tinnitus distress between tinnitus

magnitude, cognitions and functional difficultie s in the development of somatization symptoms among male

and female patients experiencing ear-related proble ms due to lack of proper access to health care.

Design/methodology/approach –This study was based on a purposive sampling technique and

sample consistedon 159 patients (97 male, 62 female) having tinnitus complaints,with age range 18–87

(M = 47.94, SD = 17.47) years,recruited from various clinics and hospitals of Islamabad,Pakistan, from

December2020 to July 2021.

Findings –The findings of thisstudy showed that tinnitus distress is significant positivelyassociated with

tinnitus-related magnitude, negative cognitions, functional difficulties and somatization symptoms.

Gender-related differencesbetween male and female tinnitus patients revealed that females are more

prone to depicthigher levels of tinnitus distress, tinnitusmagnitude, negative cognitionsand somatization

symptoms than male patients. Mediation analysis demonstrated that tinnitus distress serves as a

mediatorbetween tinnitus magnitude, cognitions,functional difficultiesand somatization symptoms.

Research limitations/implications –Cross-sectional nature and self-reporting measures serve as a

limitation of thestudy. An experimental study appears to be vitalto ascertain the time-based relationship

with tinnitus magnitude in the development of various psychopathological issues. The findings of this

study contribute to the literature by highlighting the role of tinnitus distress in the origination of

psychopathologicalsymptoms like somatizationand need of upgraded health-care systemsin Pakistan.

Originality/value –This study has explored the mediating role of tinnitusdistress between magnitude,

cognitions, functional difficulties and somatization symptoms among Pakistani population, specifically

mentioning the developmentof somatization symptoms among this population, which can contribute in

the loss of earningand increased health expensesdue to unawareness of proper health-careapproach.

Keywords Cognitions, Functional diff‌iculties, Health-care burden, Somatization, Tinnitus distress,

Tinnitus magnitude, Health care

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

Tinnitus is an enduring auditory perception of sound without the presence of any

environmental acoustic source (Boecking et al.,2020;McFerran et al.,2019). The

pervasiveness among individuals experiencing tinnitus is around 10%–15% (Bhatt, 2018;

MacGregor et al.,2020), with around 2%–4% significantly suffering from this debilitating

condition (Piccirillo et al., 2020), thus contributing in the higher costs for health care and

allied systems (Trochidis et al.,2021). For this reason, studies on chronic tinnitus have been

growing from the past decade (Cima et al.,2020). Usually, the sounds heard are in the form of

Ammar Ahmed and

Naeem Aslam are both

based at the National

Institute Of Psychology,

Centre of Excellence,

Quaid-I-Azam University,

Islamabad, Pakistan.

Received 1 October 2021

Revised 14 November 2021

Accepted 11 December 2021

Special thanks to my supervisor

Dr Naeem Aslam for guiding

me throughout my thesis.

National Institute of

Psychology, Quaid-I-Azam

University, Islamabad has

approved this research study.

This article is extracted from a

PhD thesis.

Competing interests: The

authors are well informed and

declare no competing interests.

Funding: National Institute of

Psychology, Quaid-I-Azam

University, Islamabad has

approved this research study.

DOI 10.1108/IJHRH-09-2021-0183 VOL. 16 NO.4 2023, pp. 341-351, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 205 6-4902jINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN HEALTHCARE jPAGE 341