Prevalence of Tinnitus in Patients with Different Temporomandibular Disorders Symptoms

Objective: To compare the prevalence of tinnitus in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients affected by either jaw muscle pain, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) internal derangements, or TMJ arthrosis.

Methods: The presence of self-reported tinnitus was assessed in 250 consecutive TMD patients and correlation analysis was performed with clinical TMD signs and symptoms.

Results: Tinnitus prevalence in the TMD population was 30.4%. Any significant patterns of correlation were shown for the overall study group, despite a higher tinnitus prevalence in patients with (32.8%) than without masseter pain (24.8%; p = 0.176) as well as in those with (33.7%) than without TMJ arthrosis (26.1%; p = 0.082). Age-stratified analysis showed correlations with masseter pain in older patients (48.3% vs 16; p < 0.05), and with arthrosis in younger patients (57.1% vs 22.2%; p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Any correlation patterns were shown between tinnitus and TMD. Age-stratified analysis suggested possible hypotheses for a symptom-specific clinical correlation that should be assessed with future research.