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Review
. 2025 Mar;73(3):182-188.
doi: 10.1007/s00106-024-01501-3. Epub 2024 Aug 2.

Stressful life events and tinnitus : Reflections and speculations

Laurence McKenna  1 , Florian Vogt  2
Affiliations
Review

Stressful life events and tinnitus : Reflections and speculations

Laurence McKenna et al. HNO. 2025 Mar.

Abstract
in English, German

The role of life events has not been extensively studied in the context of tinnitus. There is, however, evidence about the psychological impact of tinnitus and about the influence of psychological processes as mediators of the tinnitus experience. On the basis of this evidence, the possibility that stressful life events can act as a trigger for tinnitus is discussed; although the evidence is fragmentary and indirect, the possibility cannot be discounted. It is argued that the onset of tinnitus and the associated clinical encounters can constitute an acute stressful life event, and the ongoing experience of tinnitus can be regarded as a chronic stressful life event. Interactions between ongoing tinnitus and other life events are discussed. Possible mechanisms in terms of stress influencing predictive processing and signal detection judgments are considered.

Die Rolle von Lebensereignissen wurde im Kontext von Tinnitus nur wenig untersucht. Es gibt jedoch Hinweise auf die psychologischen Auswirkungen von Tinnitus und auf den Einfluss psychologischer Prozesse als Mediatoren des Erlebens von Tinnitus. Unter Berücksichtigung dieser Hinweise wird die Möglichkeit diskutiert, dass stressige Lebensereignisse Auslöser für Tinnitus sein können; obwohl die Belege fragmentarisch und indirekt sind, kann diese Möglichkeit nicht ausgeschlossen werden. Es wird argumentiert, dass der Beginn des Tinnitus und die damit verbundenen klinischen Kontakte ein akutes belastendes Lebensereignis darstellen können und die fortlaufende Tinnituserfahrung als chronisches belastendes Lebensereignis betrachtet werden kann. Wechselwirkungen zwischen fortbestehendem Tinnitus und anderen Lebensereignissen werden diskutiert. Mögliche Mechanismen im Hinblick auf Stress, der die prädiktive Verarbeitung und Beurteilungen der Signalerkennungbeeinflusst, werden in Betracht gezogen.

Keywords: Critical life events; Emotional regulation; Psychological impact; Stress; Stress response.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: L. McKenna and F. Vogt declare that they have no competing interests. For this article no studies with human participants or animals were performed by any of the authors. All studies mentioned were in accordance with the ethical standards indicated in each case.

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