{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,2]],"date-time":"2026-06-02T18:15:18Z","timestamp":1780424118808,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,9]],"date-time":"2022-09-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1662681600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Brain Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci12091221","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,12]],"date-time":"2022-09-12T20:52:25Z","timestamp":1663015945000},"page":"1221","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Experiential Characteristics among Individuals with Tinnitus Seeking Online Psychological Interventions: A Cluster Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9434-9160","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Eldre W.","family":"Beukes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Vision and Hearing Sciences Research Group, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1TP, UK"},{"name":"Virtual Hearing Lab, Collaborative Initiative between University of Colorado School of Medicine and University of Pretoria, Aurora, CO 80045, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Srikanth","family":"Chundu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vision and Hearing Sciences Research Group, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1TP, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pierre","family":"Ratinaud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LERASS Laboratory, University of Toulouse, BP67701 Toulouse, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerhard","family":"Andersson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Link\u00f6ping University, SE58183 Link\u00f6ping, Sweden"},{"name":"Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institute, 17176 Stockholm, Sweden"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1254-8407","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vinaya","family":"Manchaiah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Virtual Hearing Lab, Collaborative Initiative between University of Colorado School of Medicine and University of Pretoria, Aurora, CO 80045, USA"},{"name":"Department of Otolaryngology\u2013Head and Neck Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA"},{"name":"UCHealth Hearing and Balance, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora, CO 80045, USA"},{"name":"Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Gauteng 0002, South Africa"},{"name":"Department of Speech and Hearing, School of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal 756104, Karnataka, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,9,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2001). 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