Background:
Tinnitus is usually a chronic (ongoing) condition which in many cases significantly impairs the affected person’s quality of life. Their habituation to tinnitus depends on the patient’s personality resources. The aim of this research was to determine if a particular psychological meta-resource, in this case a sense of coherence, is related to the perceived annoyance of tinnitus.

Material and methods:
The study included 176 people (123 females, 53 males) aged 31–80 (M = 59.1) diagnosed with tinnitus. To measure the sense of coherence, we used the Sense of Coherence Questionnaire (SOC 29), and to evaluate the tinnitus annoyance, we used the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI). The subjects also filled in a survey to capture sociodemographic data and their medical history.

Results:
The sense of coherence (in total and in particular aspects) turned out to be significantly correlated with tinnitus annoyance (in total and in particular aspects). The overall level of coherence turned out to be an essential predictor for the overall level of tinnitus annoyance. The degree of manageability was a particularly important component of the sense of coherence which affected tinnitus annoyance.

Conclusions:
In people with a strong sense of coherence, especially with a strong manageability component, there is a lower level of tinnitus annoyance. Psychological interventions – counselling, psychoeducation, psychotherapy – support the development of a sense of coherence and can reduce tinnitus annoyance.