Health economist Wim Groot estimates the economic costs of tinnitus at 8.5 billion Euros. So says the professor affiliated with the University of Maastricht in the program ‘De Stand van Nederland’. He bases this on ‘RIVM’ figures on the number of people with tinnitus who are in a care program. The TV program, which examines economic issues through the lens of millenials, paid attention in its recent broadcast to tinnitus caused by music in leisure time.
Tinnitus is hearing sounds that are not present in the outside world. This can be a squeak, a hiss, a hum, the sound of crickets, but can also be a screeching sound like that of a streetcar going through a curve. Tinnitus is not a disease but a symptom. A symptom that can come from hearing problems, but can also have a physical cause or originate from psychological overload. In 80% of cases, impaired hearing ultimately causes the tinnitus.
In last Saturday’s February 27 broadcast of ‘De Stand van Nederland’, the focus was on tinnitus caused by loud music when going out. Certainly among millennials, which the program targets, the main cause.
Often tinnitus disappears on its own after exposure to loud music, but it can also remain permanently present. When listening to loud music or noise regularly, tinnitus can become chronic. However, it can also occur all at once, for example after a very loud bang from fireworks or a shot from an (alarm) gun (read more). Music of extremely high intensity can also cause immediate permanent hearing damage and thus tinnitus. It is therefore unwise to stand close to speakers or noise sources without hearing protection.
Consequently, people who suffer severely from tinnitus quite often also struggle with other problems. For example, sleep problems (25%), dizziness (25%), concentration problems (22%), anxiety (15%), headaches (15%) and depression (12%) are common. Hearing damage from noise or music can also cause hypersensitivity to normal everyday sounds. This is called hyperacusis. Some 55% suffer from this. The tendency of many patients to close off their hearing with hearing protectors when hyperacusis occurs is counterproductive. Chances are that this will even worsen the hyperacusis in the long run. It is precisely exposure therapy (exposure) that appears to help with hyperacusis.
Research on tinnitus shows that there are three groups of people with tinnitus. The group (1) that experiences no inconvenience, the group (2) that finds it bothersome but can otherwise live well with it, and the group (3) that finds it terrible or unbearable. The last group formed by 2% of the total group can be counted among the “serious” patients. The second group that finds it bothersome but to do, does end up seeing their GP, specialist or other care provider more often than average. Nevertheless, they do appear to be working and still functioning reasonably well socially. The group without problems with tinnitus appears to be the largest: about 84%. This appears from research by neuro psychologist Olav Wagenaar. *
Professor Wim Groot affiliated with Maastricht University estimates that economic costs of tinnitus are 8.5 billion euros. This is what the health economist says in the TV program ‘De Stand van Nederland’. He bases this on RIVM figures on the number of people with tinnitus who are in a care program (340,000). According to him, the biggest cost is caused by the loss of quality of life. It also causes healthcare costs of as much as 1.4 billion, according to him. In addition, people with tinnitus also drop out of work due to the burden they experience. This can be temporary, but also permanent. The professor estimates the loss of labor productivity it entails at 1.1 billion.
Custom-made hearing protectors offer the best protection and come with a special filter for listening to music
Organizers of events and dancings usually have the idea that the music must be quite loud for the experience. Whether this is true is questionable. Research from 2016 conducted on behalf of the then Nationale Hoorstichting (now VeiligheidNL) beek that already a third of visitors felt that the music at events and festivals is too loud.
For the broadcast, the makers of the De Stand van Nederland put the following question to young people: “Is a party only successful if the music is loud?” Of those questioned, 82% turned out to disagree with the statement. Only 18% agreed.
Despite the fact that sales of hearing protectors have increased significantly in recent years (read more), questions from the program show that 38% do not think about it when visiting an event or entertainment venue. So there appears to be gains to be made in education. Since we are getting older and since not only music and noise cause our hearing to deteriorate, being careful with them is of great importance.
