Abstract: Numerous studies have dedicated to investigate the mental problems caused by tinnitus. Recently, researchers found out that tinnitus patients’ attentional disorders might be associated with their levels of negative emotions. In addition, brain imaging studies revealed that the activations of some “emotional” brain regions were stronger in tinnitus patients’ brain, indicating that tinnitus is possibly linked with emotional disorder. We suggest these results would prove beneficial to clinical diagnosis of tinnitus, as well as psychological care of tinnitus patients. Considering tinnitus patients’ demands of life quality, future research on their execution function and social skills are necessary.

Key words: tinnitus, psychological barriers, attention, emotion, anxiety