Examination of Previously Published Data to Identify Patterns in the Social Representation of 'Hearing Aids' Across Countries

Social Representations of "Tinnitus" and "Health" among Individuals with Tinnitus Seeking Online Psychological Interventions

(1) Objective: Social representations theory (SRT) is a body of theory within social psychology concerned with how individuals, groups, and communities collectively make sense of socially relevant or problematic issues, ideas, and practices. SRT has been increasingly sued in the area of health and disability. The current study examined the social representations of "tinnitus" and "health" among individuals with tinnitus who are seeking online psychological interventions. (2) Materials/Method: The data were gathered using a free association task about their "tinnitus" and "health" from 399 individuals with tinnitus. The data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative analyses methods. (3) Results: The responses resulted in 39 and 30 categories respectively, for "tinnitus" and "health". The most commonly occurring categories for tinnitus included: descriptions of tinnitus (18%), annoying (13.5%), persistent (8%), and distracting (5%). The most commonly occurring categories for health included: content (12%), conditions (8%), active (7%), take control (6%), and overweight (5%). The responses to tinnitus had predominantly negative connotations (i.e., 76.9%) whereas a larger proportion of responses toward their health was related to positive connotations (i.e., 46.4%). These frequently occurring items were also dominant in similarities analysis. Prototypical analysis of tinnitus responses identified categories horrible and bothersome to be key items in the central zone. The categories in central zone of health responses included: content, active, healthy, grateful, and overweight. (4) Conclusions: Individuals with tinnitus have very negative view of their tinnitus impacting their psychological status. Tinnitus management should focus on reducing the negative associations toward their tinnitus and strengthen the positive aspects related to their general health.

Experiential Characteristics among Individuals with Tinnitus Seeking Online Psychological Interventions: A Cluster Analysis

Objective: This study was designed to gain insights regarding patterns of social representations (values, ideas, beliefs) of tinnitus and their relation to demographic and clinical factors. Method: A cross-sectional survey design was used including 399 adults seeking help and reporting interest in internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for tinnitus. Data were collected using a free association task and analysis used qualitative (content analysis) and quantitative (cluster analysis and chi-square analysis) using the Iramuteq software. Results: The social representations identified the negative impact of tinnitus and included the way it sounded (descriptions of the way tinnitus sounds (18%), annoyance (13.5%), and persistence (8%)). Four clusters were identified representing four levels of tinnitus severity, namely debilitating tinnitus (24%), distressing tinnitus (10%), annoying tinnitus (46%), and accepting tinnitus (20%). Cluster identity was associated with demographic and clinical variables. Discussion: The identified clusters represented tinnitus severity experience in four stages, ranging from debilitating tinnitus to acceptance of tinnitus. These findings are important for clinical practice where tinnitus descriptions can indicate the stage of the tinnitus experience and which intervention pathway may be most appropriate.

Loudness Perceptions Influence Feelings of Interpersonal Closeness and Protect Against Detrimental Psychological Effects of Social Exclusion

We propose that perceptions of auditory loudness and interpersonal closeness are bidirectionally related. Across 12 experiments (total N = 2,219; 10 preregistered; with Singaporean, British, U.S. American, and Australian participants), we demonstrated that louder audio made people feel physically (Study 1a) and socially (Study 1b) closer to others, presumably because loudness activates interpersonal closeness-related concepts implicitly (Studies 1c and 1d). This loudness-interpersonal closeness effect was observed across diverse samples (Studies 2a, 3a, and S1), for longer listening intervals (Study 2b), and in natural settings (Studies 3a and 3b). Conversely, individuals made to feel socially excluded rated their surroundings as quieter (Study 4). Furthermore, following social exclusion, individuals showed a preference for louder volume (Study 5). Finally, exposure to loud stimuli mitigated detrimental psychological effects of social exclusion (Study 6). Theoretical implications for the social cognition of loudness, social exclusion and compensatory strategies, and practical implications for ameliorating loneliness are discussed.