{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.02171664943123061, 'fraction_numerical': 0.004136504653567736, 'mean_word_length': 5.722222222222222, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
A preliminary investigation of potential cognitive performance decrements in non-help-seeking tinnitus sufferers

Abstract Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the possible impact of tinnitus on the performance of challenging cognitive tasks. Design: Participants completed the hospital anxiety and depression scale and completed two cognitive tasks: the Vienna determination task and a variant of the Stroop paradigm. In addition, tinnitus sufferers completed the subjective tinnitus severity scale. Study sample: Thirty-three tinnitus sufferers and 33 controls took part in the study (n = 66). Results: Tinnitus sufferers were no more depressed nor anxious than controls, but they performed less well on both cognitive tasks. Conclusions: Possible causes and implications of these performance decrements are discussed, with particular attention given to the possibility that subjective distress is an important moderating factor in tinnitus sufferers.