Tinnitus, the perception of sound without external stimuli, affects approximately 14.4% of adults, significantly impacting quality of life. Previous cross-sectional research has shown that individuals who engage in greater levels of physical activity (PA) reported lower tinnitus severity. While these findings are promising, they are limited by the inherent constraints of cross-sectional designs....
Increasing physical activity is associated with reduced tinnitus severity over 2 years, but the observational design cannot confirm causation — audiologists may reasonably encourage activity as part of a healthy lifestyle without overstating its therapeutic effect on tinnitus.
If a dose–response relationship between physical activity and tinnitus severity is replicated in controlled trials, exercise could become a low-cost, low-risk adjunct in tinnitus management protocols.
- 01A 2-year prospective observational study linked increased physical activity to reduced tinnitus severity in adults.
- 02Association does not confirm causation — confounding factors (e.g., stress, sleep) were not fully controlled.
- 03Findings support growing evidence that lifestyle factors modulate tinnitus perception.
- 04No specific exercise type or dose was identified as optimal in this study.
- 05Results could inform future RCTs testing structured exercise as a tinnitus intervention.
Increments in physical activity are associated with reductions in tinnitus severity over a 2-year period.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42228109
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00405-026-10324-7.
- Journal
- European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Adults with tinnitus followed prospectively over 2 years
- Intervention
- Self-reported increments in physical activity
- Comparator
- Lower or stable physical activity levels
Primary outcomes
Tinnitus severity (change over 2 years)