The incidence of tinnitus in people with disorders of the temporomandibular joint.

This study was conducted to compare the prevalence of tinnitus in the general population with its incidence in people with dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint (TMJD) within the temporomandibular disorder (TMD) population. Earlier studies had indicated the prevalence of tinnitus in the general population to be in the range of 10-14%. Between 1981 and 1990, analysis of 989 consecutive TMJD patients from a TMD database found the incidence of tinnitus to be 7.28% (72 patients). In addition, no statistical difference was found between the occurrence of tinnitus in men and women. Thirty-nine patients of the tinnitus group (54.17%) claimed to have pain in the ear as compared to 318 patients (32.15%) in the total population. No patient with tinnitus claimed to have decreased hearing, whereas three patients (0.30% of the total population) complained of a decrease in hearing.