Adults’ interpretation of tinnitus during childhood and adolescence: Implications for clinical assessment and management

This thesis presents an innovative conceptual framework for understanding, assessing and managing tinnitus (the perception of sound without an external noise source) in young people. The framework was developed through a scoping review and series of 3 concept-mapping studies that drew upon the comprehensive and heterogeneous experiences, views and reflections of adults who had experienced tinnitus as a young person, primary caregivers of young people with tinnitus, and clinicians. Through these studies, it became apparent that the experience of tinnitus by young people extends beyond the auditory domain and involve emotional and physiological sequelae, contributing to primary and secondary impacts.