Sleepiness and sleep in elderly persons with tinnitus

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of tinnitus to sleep and daytime sleepiness (DS) in a group of elderly men and women. A questionnaire survey was undertaken among 10,216 elderly subjects in northern Sweden. The mean (+/-s.d.) ages of the men and women were 73.0 +/- 6.0 and 72.6 +/- 6.7 years, respectively. Tinnitus was reported by 14.9% of the men and 12.0% of the women. The relative number with tinnitus was not related to age in men, but increased with age in women. Poor sleep was reported by 14.4% of the men and 27.9% of the women. Among subjects with tinnitus poor sleep and frequent waking were more common in both sexes, while difficulties in falling asleep after awakening at night were reported more often by women. DS was more common in subjects with tinnitus and the frequency was even more increased in those with both tinnitus and poor sleep. There was no further increase in DS in men and women on sleep medication. Thus, DS in elderly persons with tinnitus may due both to tiring effect of the annoying sound itself but also the negative effect by tinnitus on sleep. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.