In 2021, about 5 in 1000 people visited the GP with complaints about ringing in the ears (tinnitus). These were slightly more men than women. One third of them were referred to second-line care, such as the ear-nose-throat (ENT) doctor. This is evident from research by Nivel.
Tinnitus is characterized by hearing a sound that is not actually there. On the occasion of the Week of Tinnitus (6 to 12 February 2023), Nivel investigated what the care use for tinnitus in general practice actually is.
Excerpt from the infographic. Mainly men (52%) and the elderly over 50 years of age visited the general practice for ringing in the ears (tinnitus). Knowing more? Open the publication.
The research
The data used from 2021 comes from Nivel Primary Care Registrations. We selected 256 GP practices with 1,089,434 enrolled patients, for whom we had data on referrals and diagnoses. Of these, 5,092 patients visited their general practice for tinnitus.
