Subjective Tinnitus and Anxiety Disorder Trends

A new bibliometric analysis has mapped the scientific research connecting subjective tinnitus and anxiety disorders. The study, published in *Medicine (Baltimore)*, analyzed 262 publications from 2014 to 2025 to identify the key players, central themes, and future directions in this field.

**How Researchers Mapped the Tinnitus-Anxiety Connection**

Qiang Huang, Baoguo Wang, and Zi Wang from Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine used bibliometric methods to analyze the published literature. They retrieved 773 initial publications from the Web of Science Core Collection and narrowed them down to 262 valid studies after screening.

The team used specialized software like VOSviewer and CiteSpace to perform visual and statistical analyses. They examined which countries, institutions, authors, and journals produced and cited the most work. They also analyzed keyword co-occurrence to find central research themes and looked at which references were cited together most often, revealing foundational papers and concepts. This approach provides a data-driven overview of a research field’s structure and evolution.

**The Leading Contributors and Influential Journals**

The analysis revealed a concentrated research effort led by a few key entities. The United States produced the highest number of publications (58) and maintained the most extensive international collaboration network. The University of Nottingham in the UK was the most prolific single institution, with 24 publications.

Gerhard Andersson, a prominent psychologist and tinnitus researcher, emerged as the leading individual contributor. He was both the most published author (11 articles) and the most cited (1145 citations). In terms of journals, *Frontiers in Neurology* published the most articles on the topic (13), while *LARYNGOSCOPE* was the most cited journal, with 314 citations across the dataset. This indicates that while some journals publish volume, others publish work that becomes a reference point for the field.

**Core Research Hotspots: Severity, Prevalence, and Assessment**

Keyword analysis distilled the field’s focus into a few persistent themes. The most frequent and strongly linked keywords were “tinnitus, anxiety, depression, prevalence, severity, association, hospital anxiety.” This confirms that the primary research drive has been to quantify and qualify the relationship between tinnitus distress and emotional comorbidities.

The co-citation analysis of references pointed to the essential tools for this research. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were the most significant reference points. Their frequent use underscores that measuring the *impact* of tinnitus and the *level* of anxiety is foundational. Research into underlying mechanisms and treatment strategies formed the other major cluster of highly cited references. This suggests a natural progression from assessment to intervention.

**Implications for Patients and Future Research Directions**

This map of the research field has practical implications. For clinicians and patients, it reinforces that the tinnitus-anxiety link is a major, well-documented focus of modern research, not an anecdotal observation. The dominance of the THI and HADS highlights the importance of standardized assessment; understanding a patient’s scores on these tools is a central part of clinical evaluation.

The findings also signal where the field is heading. The strong focus on mechanisms and treatment in the cited references indicates a shift. Research is moving beyond establishing the connection and toward explaining *why* it exists and *how* to treat both conditions together. This aligns with growing interest in tinnitus phenotypes and brain connectivity differences, which may explain why some patients develop severe distress while others adapt.

Future studies are likely to build on this mapped foundation by exploring integrated therapies. For example, psychological interventions studied for anxiety may be adapted for tinnitus, and neuromodulation techniques targeting shared brain networks could be developed. The consistent link to depression also argues for a broader view of emotional dysregulation, connecting to broader themes of suffering and well-being in hearing health.

In conclusion, this bibliometric study by Huang and colleagues offers a clear snapshot of a dynamic research area. It shows a field solidified around the tinnitus-anxiety-depression triad, led by specific global experts, and now pivoting toward mechanistic understanding and combined treatment approaches—a necessary step for improving patient care.

*Source: Huang Q, Wang B, Wang Z, Cao Y. Trends and hotspots in subjective idiopathic tinnitus and anxiety disorder research based on Bibliometrics. *Med (Baltim)*. 2026;105(20):e48716. doi:[10.1097/MD.0000000000048716](https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000048716). PMID: [42152361](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42152361/).*