(ANSA) – MILAN, 04 NOV – About 65 million European citizens, one in seven, suffer from tinnitus, this number “will increase significantly over the next decade”.
In Italy alone, more than 6 million people suffer from it. This is stated in a research by the Mario Negri Institute, published in Lancet Regional Health Europe.
Tinnitus is the perception of a noise, usually a buzzing, whistling, rustling or hissing sound in the ears or head in the absence of an external acoustic stimulus. In its most severe form it can strongly affect people’s emotional health and social well-being. The study, conducted by the Institute’s epidemiologists, Silvano Gallus and Alessandra Lugo, in collaboration with experts from the British University of Nottingham, the University of Regensburg in Germany and the University-Watt in Malaysia, is the first to examine the prevalence of tinnitus on a representative sample of the adult population of 12 EU Member States was rigorous, equal to 80% of the EU population plus England.
With this research, between 2017 and 2018, over 11,000 adults were recruited in Bulgaria, England, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain, asking them a series of questions related to tinnitus.
“14% of adult Europeans reported suffering from tinnitus for at least 5 minutes during the last 12 months – explains Silvano Gallus, lead author of the article -. Severe tinnitus was found in 1.2%. of participants. This means that in Italy alone more than 6 million Italians suffer from tinnitus, of which more than 400 thousand are severe “.
“We found that the prevalence of tinnitus – adds Alessandra Lugo – significantly increases with age and hearing worsening, while it is similar in both sexes. At the moment there are no treatments or drugs approved to treat tinnitus,” but there are therapies available to help cope with the symptom. And some of the latest drug research is showing promising results. ” (HANDLE).
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