The purpose of this study was to evaluate audiologic characteristics of service members (SMs) and veterans who have tinnitus alone or have both tinnitus and posttraumatic stress disorder (T&P), as compared to healthy controls.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists working with military and veteran populations should be aware that comorbid PTSD may be associated with distinct audiologic profiles in tinnitus patients, suggesting the need for integrated screening and interdisciplinary care pathways.
Tinnitus and PTSD are among the most prevalent service-connected conditions in military veterans; understanding how they interact audiologically could improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment planning for this high-need population.
- 01Study compares audiologic profiles of veterans/service members with tinnitus alone vs. tinnitus + PTSD.
- 02Published in the American Journal of Audiology (DOI: 10.1044/2026_AJA-26-00017).
- 03Findings may inform whether PTSD status should alter audiologic assessment protocols.
- 04Military populations face high rates of both noise-induced hearing loss and trauma-related conditions.
- 05Results support a need for interdisciplinary evaluation combining audiology and mental health services.
Military service members and veterans with comorbid tinnitus and PTSD have distinct audiologic characteristics compared to those with tinnitus alone.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42593235
- DOI
- 10.1044/2026_AJA-26-00017.
- Journal
- American Journal of Audiology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 3
- Population
- Military service members and veterans with tinnitus, with and without comorbid PTSD
- Intervention
- Audiologic characterization (hearing assessments)
- Comparator
- Veterans/service members with tinnitus alone vs. tinnitus + PTSD
Primary outcomes
Audiologic profile characteristics (e.g., hearing thresholds, tinnitus metrics); Differences in audiologic measures between tinnitus-only and tinnitus+PTSD groups