No access
Research Article
21 September 2022

Online Discussions About Tinnitus: What Can We Learn From Natural Language Processing of Reddit Posts?

Publication: American Journal of Audiology
Volume 31, Number 3S
Pages 993-1002

Abstract

Background:

This study was aimed at identifying key topics in online discussions about tinnitus by examining a large data set extracted from Reddit social media using a natural language processing technique.

Method:

A corpus of 113,215 posts about tinnitus was extracted from Reddit's application programming interface. After cleaning the data for duplications and posts without any text information, the sample was reduced to 101,905 posts, which was subjected to cluster analysis using the open-source IRaMuTeQ software to identify main topics based on the co-occurrence of texts. These clusters were named by a panel of tinnitus experts (n = 9) by reading typical text segments within each cluster.

Results:

The cluster analysis identified 16 unique clusters that belong to two topics, which were named “tinnitus causes and consequences” and “tinnitus management and coping.” Based on their characteristics, the clusters were named: tinnitus timeline (10%), tinnitus perception (9.7%), medical triggers and modulators (8.8%), hearing research (8.8%), attention and silence (8.6%), social media posts about tinnitus (7.4%), hearing protection (7.3%), interaction with hearing health care providers (6.7%), mental health and coping (5.8%), music listening (5.7%), hope for a cure (5.6%), interactions with people without tinnitus (5.4%), dietary supplements and alternative therapies (3.2%), sleep (3.9%), dietary effects (1.7%), and writing about tinnitus and being thankful to online community (1.4%).

Conclusions:

Despite some limitations, tinnitus posts on Reddit provide rich real-world data to identify various issues and complaints that tinnitus patients and their significant others discuss in online communities. Some of the clusters identified here are novel (e.g., tinnitus timeline, interactions with people without tinnitus) and have not been much discussed in the tinnitus literature. The results suggest that individuals with tinnitus relay on social media for support and highlight the service delivery needs in providing social support through other means (e.g., support groups).

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

References

Baguley, D., McFerran, D., & Hall, D. (2013). Tinnitus. The Lancet, 382(9904), 1600–1607.
Basch, C. H., Yin, J., Kollia, B., Adedokun, A., Trusty, S., Yeboah, F., & Fung, I. C. (2018). Public online information about tinnitus: A cross-sectional study of YouTube videos. Noise & Health, 20(92), 1–8.
Bhatt, J. M., Lin, H. W., & Bhattacharyya, N. (2016). Prevalence, severity, exposures, and treatment patterns of tinnitus in the United States. JAMA Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, 142(10), 959–965.
Boyd, R. L. (2017). Psychological text analysis in the digital humanities. In S. Hai-Jew (Ed.), Data analytics in digital humanities (pp. 161–189). Springer Cham.
Dawes, P., Cruickshanks, K. J., Marsden, A., Moore, D. R., & Munro, K. J. (2020). Relationship between diet, tinnitus, and hearing difficulties. Ear and Hearing, 41(2), 289–299.
Deshpande, A. K., Deshpande, S. B., & O'Brien, C. (2018). A study of social media utilization by individuals with tinnitus. American Journal of Audiology, 27(4), 559–569.
Deshpande, A. K., Deshpande, S. B., & O'Brien, C. A. (2019). Hyperacusis and social media trends. Hearing, Balance and Communication, 17(1), 1–11.
Eysenbach, G., & Till, J. E. (2001). Ethical issues in qualitative research on Internet communities. BMJ, 323(7321), 1103–1105.
Haider, H. F., Bojić, T., Ribeiro, S. F., Paço, J., Hall, D. A., & Szczepek, A. J. (2018). Pathophysiology of subjective tinnitus: Triggers and maintenance. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 866.
Hall, D. A., Fackrell, K., Li, A. B., Thavayogan, R., Smith, S., Kennedy, V., Tinoco, C., Rodrigues, E. D., Campelo, P., Martins, T. D., Lourenço, V. M., Ribeiro, D., & Haider, H. F. (2018). A narrative synthesis of research evidence for tinnitus-related complaints as reported by patients and their significant others. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 16(1), 61.
Hall, D. A., Hibbert, A., Vesala, M., Kerr, M., Harrison, S., & Core Outcome Measures in Tinnitus (COMiT). (2021). Web-based discussion forums reveal the person-centered relevance and importance of tinnitus. Progress in Brain Research, 260, 205–221.
IRaMuTeQ. (2021). IRaMuTeQ software. http://www.iramuteq.org/
Kennedy, B., Ashokkumar, A., Boyd, R. L., & Dehghani, M. (2021). Text analysis for psychology: Methods, principles, and practices.
Knobel, K. A., & Sanchez, T. G. (2008). Influence of silence and attention on tinnitus perception. Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, 138(1), 18–22.
Luetzenberg, F. S., Babu, S., & Seidman, M. D. (2020). Alternative treatments of tinnitus: Alternative medicine. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, 53(4), 637–650.
Madrigal, L., & Escoffery, C. (2019). Electronic health behaviors among US adults with chronic disease: Cross-sectional survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(3), e11240.
Manchaiah, V., Amlani, A. M., Bricker, C. M., Whitfield, C. T., & Ratinaud, P. (2019). Benefits and shortcomings of direct-to-consumer hearing devices: Analysis of large secondary data generated from Amazon customer reviews. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(5), 1506–1516.
Manchaiah, V., Beukes, E. W., Granberg, S., Durisala, N., Baguley, D. M., Allen, P. M., & Andersson, G. (2018). Problems and life effects experienced by tinnitus research study volunteers: An exploratory study using the ICF classification. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 29(10), 936–947.
Manchaiah, V., Dockens, A. L., Flagge, A., Bellon-Harn, M., Azios, J. H., Kelly-Campbell, R. J., & Andersson, G. (2019). Quality and readability of English-language Internet information for tinnitus. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 30(1), 31–40.
Manchaiah, V., Ratinaud, P., & Andersson, G. (2018). Representation of tinnitus in the US newspaper media and in Facebook pages: Cross-sectional analysis of secondary data. Interactive Journal of Medical Research, 7(1), e9.
Manchaiah, V., Ratinaud, P., & Beukes, E. W. (2019). Representation of hearing loss and hearing aids in the U.S. newspaper media: Cross-sectional analysis of secondary data. American Journal of Audiology, 28(1), 11–25.
McFerran, D. J., Stockdale, D., Holme, R., Large, C. H., & Baguley, D. M. (2019). Why is there no cure for tinnitus. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 13, 802.
Ni, J., Bellon-Harn, M. L., Zhang, J., Li, Y., & Manchaiah, V. (2020). Twitter usage using common reference to tinnitus. American Journal of Audiology, 29(2), 206–217.
Nunez-Mir, G. C., Iannone, B. V., Pijanowski, B. C., Kong, N., & Fei, S. (2016). Automated content analysis: Addressing the big literature challenge in ecology and evolution. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 7(11), 1262–1272.
Palacios, G., Noreña, A., & Londero, A. (2020). Assessing the heterogeneity of complaints related to tinnitus and hyperacusis from an unsupervised machine learning approach: An exploratory study. Audiology & Neuro-Otology, 25(4), 174–189.
Pienkowski, M. (2019). Rationale and efficacy of sound therapies for tinnitus and hyperacusis. Neuroscience, 407(21), 120–134.
Schaette, R., Turtle, C., & Munro, K. J. (2012). Reversible induction of phantom auditory sensations through simulated unilateral hearing loss. PLOS ONE, 7(6), Article e35238.
Spasić, I., Owen, D., Smith, A., & Button, K. (2019). KLOSURE: Closing in on open-ended patient questionnaires with text mining. Journal of Biomedical Semantics, 10, 24.
Swire-Thompson, B., & Lazer, D. (2020). Public health and online misinformation: Challenges and recommendations. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 433–451.
Tucker, D. A., Phillips, S. L., Ruth, R. A., Clayton, W. A., Royster, E., & Todd, A. D. (2005). The effect of silence on tinnitus perception. Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, 132(1), 20–24.
Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science, 359(6380), 1146–1151.
Watts, E. J., Fackrell, K., Smith, S., Sheldrake, J., Haider, H., & Hoare, D. J. (2018). Why is tinnitus a problem? A qualitative analysis of problems reported by tinnitus patients. Trends in Hearing, 22, 2331216518812250.
Zhao, F., Manchaiah, V. K. C., French, D., & Price, S. M. (2010). Music exposure and hearing disorders: An overview. International Journal of Audiology, 49(1), 54–64.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

American Journal of Audiology
Volume 31Number 3SSeptember 2022
Pages: 993-1002
PubMed: 35130042

History

  • Received: Aug 4, 2021
  • Revised: Oct 15, 2021
  • Accepted: Nov 28, 2021
  • Published online: Feb 7, 2022
  • Published in issue: Sep 21, 2022

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora
UCHealth Hearing and Balance, University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora
Virtual Hearing Lab, Collaborative Initiative between University of Colorado School of Medicine and University of Pretoria, Aurora, CO
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Department of Speech and Hearing, Manipal College of Health Professions, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, Methodology, and Writing – original draft.
Alain Londero
Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris; Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes – Université de Paris, France
Author Contributions: Methodology and Writing – original draft.
Aniruddha K. Deshpande
Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, Hofstra University, Long Island, NY
Long Island Doctor of Audiology Consortium, Garden City, NY
Author Contributions: Methodology and Writing – original draft.
Manon Revel
Institute for Data, Systems and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Author Contributions: Methodology and Writing – original draft.
Guillaume Palacios
PainkillAR, TELECOM ParisTech, France
Author Contributions: Methodology and Writing – original draft.
Ryan L. Boyd
Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Security Lancaster, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Data Science Institute, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
Author Contributions: Data curation, Methodology, and Writing – original draft.
Pierre Ratinaud
Laboratory of Applied Studies and Research in Social Sciences, University of Toulouse, France
Author Contributions: Formal analysis, Methodology, and Writing – original draft.

Notes

Disclosure: The authors have declared that no competing financial or nonfinancial interests existed at the time of publication.
Correspondence to Vinaya Manchaiah: [email protected]
Editor-in-Chief: Ryan W. McCreery
Editor: Gabrielle H. Saunders
Publisher Note: This article is part of the Special Issue: 5th International Meeting on Internet and Audiology.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Article Metrics
View all metrics



Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Citing Literature

  • Changes in Perceived Tinnitus Sound Qualities Following Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Tinnitus, Clinics and Practice, 10.3390/clinpract15040069, 15, 4, (69), (2025).
  • Establishing a Comprehensive Tinnitus Care Pathway—Part 2: Implementation, Seminars in Hearing, 10.1055/s-0045-1804901, 45, 03/04, (296-305), (2025).
  • A Scoping Review of the Role of Attention in Tinnitus Management, Seminars in Hearing, 10.1055/s-0045-1804903, 45, 03/04, (317-330), (2025).
  • Establishing a Comprehensive Tinnitus Care Pathway—Part 1: Essential Components, Seminars in Hearing, 10.1055/s-0045-1804519, 45, 03/04, (284-295), (2025).
  • Applying Natural Language Processing Techniques to Map Trends in Insomnia Treatment Terms on the r/Insomnia Subreddit: Infodemiology Study, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 10.2196/58902, 27, (e58902), (2025).
  • Individuals with Tinnitus Report More Positive Experiences following Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Clinics and Practice, 10.3390/clinpract14040130, 14, 4, (1615-1624), (2024).
  • Gender Differences in Letters of Recommendations and Personal Statements for Neurotology Fellowship over 10 Years: A Deep Learning Linguistic Analysis, Otology & Neurotology, 10.1097/MAO.0000000000004265, 45, 8, (827-832), (2024).
  • ChatGPT for Tinnitus Information and Support: Response Accuracy and Retest after Three and Six Months, Brain Sciences, 10.3390/brainsci14050465, 14, 5, (465), (2024).
  • Complementary and Alternative Therapies, Textbook of Tinnitus, 10.1007/978-3-031-35647-6_55, (705-715), (2024).
  • An introduction to machine learning and generative artificial intelligence for otolaryngologists—head and neck surgeons: a narrative review, European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, 10.1007/s00405-024-08512-4, 281, 5, (2723-2731), (2024).
  • See more

View Options

Sign In Options

ASHA member? If so, log in with your ASHA website credentials for full access.

Member Login

View options

PDF

View PDF

Full Text

View Full Text

Figures

Tables

Media

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share