Prevalência de transtorno de panico em pacientes com zumbidos

background: many studies suggest there is an association between tinnitus and psychiatric disorders. objective: to identify the prevalence of panic disorder in a tinnitus patients' sample. method: we evaluated 50 patients with the main complaint of tinnitus of an otorhinolaryngology outpatient unit for two consecutive months. the evaluation of psychiatric disorders was made with the mini international neuropsychiatric interview (m.i.n.i version 5.0) and the evaluation of the tinnitus' impact was made with the tinnitus handicap inventory. all patients also were submitted to an audiological evaluation and answered a clinical-demographic questionnaire elaborated for this study. results: twenty (40%) patients had panic disorder, 8 with agoraphobia and 12 without agoraphobia; 41 patients (82%) had at least one psychiatric disorder, and the most prevalent were: panic disorder (40%), major depression (40%) and generalized anxiety disorder (34%). discussion: the prevalence of panic disorder in this sample of tinnitus' patients was high, which reinforces the importance of a psychiatric evaluation on these patients.