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. 2023 May-Jun;44(3):619-626.
doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001306. Epub 2022 Nov 21.

Associations Between Physical Activity, Tinnitus, and Tinnitus Severity

Shanwen Chen  1 , Xue Yang  1 , Yuan Jiang  1 , Feihu Wu  2 , Yifan Li  1 , Jianxin Qiu  1 , Busheng Tong  1 , Yehai Liu  1
Affiliations

Associations Between Physical Activity, Tinnitus, and Tinnitus Severity

Shanwen Chen et al. Ear Hear. 2023 May-Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the associations between physical activity and tinnitus development and physical activity and tinnitus severity in a large representative sample of US adults.

Design: Data were obtained from 3826 eligible participants (20 to 69 years) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2015 and 2016. Physical activity was assessed using a Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. We used multivariable logistic regression to test the associations of physical activity (without physical activity, with physical activity) and amount of physical activity (min/week, in quartiles) with tinnitus symptoms. Adults with depressive symptoms were excluded, and the models were controlled for relevant sociodemographic, lifestyle, and health-related covariates. A restricted cubic spline was used to explore the dose-response relationship between the amount of physical activity and tinnitus.

Results: Overall, 12.8% of the population who engaged in physical activity reported tinnitus, compared with 18.5% of the population who did not ( p = 0.005). Subgroup analysis based on the amount of physical activity showed that participants who performed physical activity (150 to 300, 310 to 540, and 550 to 4800 min/week) had lower risks of tinnitus than those with no physical activity (odds ratio = 0.72, 0.56, and 0.62, respectively), after adjusting for covariates. However, no correlation was observed between physical activity and tinnitus severity in the present study. The dose-response analysis showed a nonlinear relationship (P for nonlinearity = 0.04) between the amount of physical activity and the risk of tinnitus.

Conclusions: Physical activity may be associated with a reduced risk of tinnitus. Further research using a longitudinal design is required to confirm these findings and clarify the direction of causation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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