The Impact of Mental Health Symptoms in Children With Tinnitus and Misophonia: A Multi-disciplinary Approach.

This article focuses on the clinical characteristics and mental health symptom prevalence in children with tinnitus and misophonia evaluated in a multi-disciplinary pediatric clinic. In a retrospective review of 54 children (33 with tinnitus and 21 with misophonia, mean age 14.3 years), both groups exhibited significant symptom severity and elevated anxiety symptoms as measured by the Screen for Childhood Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). The misophonia group also showed significantly higher depression symptoms on the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) compared to the tinnitus group. Hearing loss was present only in the tinnitus subgroup, and prior mental health counseling was reported in both groups. The study highlights the need for pediatric-specific assessment tools and randomized clinical trials to develop evidence-based treatments for these sound annoyance disorders.