Problem-Oriented Personality Type in Patients with Tinnitus: Specificity and Practical Relevance in Diagnostics

The article presents the results of an empirical study of personality characteristics of the presence or absence of a problem-oriented personality type in 55 patients with (average age 49.6±11.2 years, 60% of men and 40% of women) and without (average age 48.5±12.2 years; 55% of men and 45% of women) subjective idiopathic tinnitus. The use of the Tinnitus Severity Index (TSI), the type-D Scale (DS-14), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and the Emotional stability assessment subscale from the Five-Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI) made it possible for the first time to describe the affective style of patients with tinnitus. Compared to people without tinnitus, patients with tinnitus have statistically and clinically significant higher levels of neuroticism, negative affectivity and social inhibition (isolation), on the one hand, and lower levels of extraversion and emotional stability, on the other hand. Patients with tinnitus and severe tinnitus distress are more likely to have a problem-oriented personality type, a problem-oriented personality type is associated with the presence of tinnitus and contributes to its perceived severity. Negative affectivity, as one of the dimensions of a problem-oriented personality type, has an adverse effect on the severity of tinnitus, and is a risk factor for tinnitus distress. In this regard, the article provides practical recommendations for the psychological examination of patients with tinnitus and the tactics of cognitive behavioral therapy.