To investigate if the anxiety associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a promoting factor to tinnitus. A retrospective research design collected from 188 tinnitus patients, was used to compare the clinical characteristics of tinnitus between the patients in 2020 under pandemic pressure and those from the matching period in 2019. While anxiety was quantified using the Zung’s Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), tinnitus severity was evaluated using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire and the test of tinnitus loudness (TL). The assessments were repeated after the sound therapy plus educational counselling (STEC) for 38 patients in 2020 and 58 patients in 2019 and compared with EC alone therapy for 42 patients in 2020 and 17 patients in 2019. A large increase in anxiety was evident in 2020 in both case rate and SAS. The treatment of both methods was less effective in 2020. SAS, THI and TL were all deteriorated after the EC alone treatment in 2020, while an improvement was seen in 2019. This suggests that EC alone could not counteract the stress by COVID-19 at all, and the stress, if not managed well, can significantly increase the severity of tinnitus and associated anxiety. By using the EC subgroup in virtual control, we conclude that anxiety can serve as a promoting factor to tinnitus. We believe that this is the first study report that confirm the causative/promotive role of anxiety on tinnitus during COVID-19 pandemic.

To prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), China adopted nationwide lockdown measures on January 25, 2020, leading to an evident diminution in the observed air pollutants. To investigate the influence of the lockdown on atmospheric chemistry, the specific molecular composition, oxidative potential of organic aerosols (OAs) in PM_2.5 were studied using a high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry at a typical coal-combustion city, Linfen, in the North China Plain (NCP). The major air pollutants including PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, and CO were observed to be diminished by 28.6–45.4%, while O₃ was augmented by 52.5% during the lockdown compared to those before the lockdown. A significant decrease of oxygen-containing (CHO) compounds (24.7%) associated with anthropogenic acids was observed during the lockdown, implying a reduction in fossil fuel combustion. The coal-burning related sulfur-containing organosulfates (CHOS-) and nitrooxy-sulfates (CHONS-) have also shown attenuated in both their relative abundances and anthropogenic/biogenic ratios. Amine/amide-like CHON + components have decreased by 27.6%, while nitro/nitrooxy-containing CHON- compounds have only decreased by 7.1%. Multi-source nitrogen-containing (CHN) compounds have shown a moderate elimination of 24.0%, while the identified high-condensed azaarenes have fallen from 17.7% to 14.7%, implying a potential reduction in the health risk of OAs during quarantine. The measurement of OAs’ oxidative potential through dithiothreitol (DTT) assay has confirmed that as it had dropped from 0.88 nmol min⁻¹ m⁻³ to 0.80 nmol min⁻¹ m⁻³. High correlations were observed between the abundance of OA subgroups with the concentration of PM_2.5 after the execution of the lockdown, suggesting a potential elevation in the contribution of organic components to the total PM_2.5 level. Our study provides insightful compositional and health-related information in the variation of OAs during the lockdown period and attests to the validity of joint-control strategy in controlling the level and health risks of numerous atmospheric pollutants.

Objectives: To investigate if the anxiety associated with COVID-19 is a promoting factor to tinnitus. Methods: A retrospective research design was used to compare the clinical characteristics of tinnitus between the patients in 2020 under pandemic pressure and those from the matching period in 2019. While anxiety was quantified using the Zung’s Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), tinnitus severity was evaluated using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire and the test of minimum masking level (MML). The assessments were repeated after the sound therapy plus educational counselling (STEC) and compared with EC alone therapy. Results: A large increase in anxiety was evident in 2020 in both case rate and SAS. The treatment of both methods was less effective in 2020. SAS, THI and MML were all deteriorated after the EC alone treatment in 2020, while an improvement was seen in 2019. This suggests that EC alone could not counteract the stress by COVID-19 at all, and the stress, if not managed well, can significantly increase the severity of tinnitus and associated anxiety. Conclusions: By using the EC subgroup in virtual control, we conclude that anxiety can serve as a promoting factor to tinnitus. We believe that this is the first study report that confirm the causative/promotive role of anxiety on tinnitus.

Background: The directional nature of the link between anxiety and tinnitus has not been verified. COVID-19 has added stress to involved residents and provided a good opportunity to discover if anxiety/stress plays a causative/promotive role to tinnitus. Methods: A retrospective research design was used to compare the tinnitus clinics between the patients in 2020 under COVID-19 and those from the matching period in 2019. While anxiety was quantified using the Zung’s Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), tinnitus severity was evaluated using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) questionnaire and the test of minimum masking level (MML). The assessments were repeated after two months of therapy with sound therapy + educational counselling (STEC) or EC alone. Results: A large increase in anxiety was evident in 2020 in both case rate and SAS. The treatment of both methods was less effective in 2020. SAS, THI and MML were all deteriorated after the EC alone treatment in 2020, while an improvement was seen in 2019. Discussion: The differences between years and between treatment methods suggest that EC alone could not counteract the stress by COVID-19 at all, and the stress, if not managed well, can significantly increase the severity of tinnitus and associated anxiety.Conclusions: By using the EC subgroup in virtual control, we conclude that anxiety can serve as a promoting factor to tinnitus. We believe that this is the first study report that confirm the causative/promotive role of anxiety on tinnitus