Quality of life in patients with tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss.

UNLABELLED: The severity of tinnitus often correlates to psychological and general health factors and the risk of depression and insomnia may be higher in patients with tinnitus. METHODS: Three questionnaires about physical and psychological health were mailed to 714 Swedish patients with tinnitus and sensorineural hearing loss. A total of 555 (78%) patients replied and 426 patients (77%) submitted their answers to the questionnaires. RESULTS: Female patients had significantly higher Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores than male patients. An open question about the experienced quality of the care that the patients obtained at our ENT clinics resulted in 159 comments (37%). The majority of the comments were about the hearing aids and many patients did not identify their hearing aids as a treatment. Patients who did not feel that the treatment they obtained at our ENT clinics was good had a significantly higher pure tone average (PTA). CONCLUSION: The results showed that many patients who did not feel that the treatment they obtained at our ENT clinics was good had no hearing aids (61%) and this level of dissatisfaction was significantly higher than in patients who stated that they had received treatment (45%). The use of hearing aids as the main treatment model in patients suffering from tinnitus and hearing impairment can be recommended in these patients. Further research is required to find an approach that could motivate patients with both tinnitus and hearing impairment to use hearing aids.

ReCOV: recovery and rehabilitation during and after COVID-19 - a study protocol of a longitudinal observational study on patients, next of kin and health care staff.

BACKGROUND: The knowledge of the long-term consequences of covid-19 is limited. In patients, symptoms such as fatigue, decreased physical, psychological, and cognitive function, and nutritional problems have been reported. How the disease has affected next of kin, as well as staff involved in the care of patients with covid-19, is also largely unknown. The overall aim of this study is therefore three-fold: (1) to describe and evaluate predictors of patient recovery, the type of rehabilitation received and patients' experiences of specialized rehabilitation following COVID-19 infection; (2) to study how next of kin experienced the hospital care of their relative and their experiences of the psychosocial support they received as well as their psychological wellbeing; (3) to describe experiences of caring for patients with COVID-19 and evaluate psychological wellbeing, coping mechanisms and predictors for development of psychological distress over time in health care staff. METHODS: This observational longitudinal study consists of three cohorts; patients, next of kin, and health care staff. The assessments for the patients consist of physical tests (lung function, muscle strength, physical capacity) and questionnaires (communication and swallowing, nutritional status, hearing, activities of daily living, physical activity, fatigue, cognition) longitudinally at 3, 6 and 12 months. Patient records auditing (care, rehabilitation) will be done retrospectively at 12 months. Patients (3, 6 and 12 months), next of kin (6 months) and health care staff (baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months) will receive questionnaires regarding, health-related quality of life, depression, anxiety, sleeping disorders, and post-traumatic stress. Staff will also answer questionnaires about burnout and coping strategies. Interviews will be conducted in all three cohorts. DISCUSSION: This study will be able to answer different research questions from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, by describing and evaluating long-term consequences and their associations with recovery, as well as exploring patients', next of kins' and staffs' views and experiences of the disease and its consequences. This will form a base for a deeper and better understanding of the consequences of the disease from different perspectives as well as helping the society to better prepare for a future pandemic.