Objective: To investigate the occurrence of tinnitus in elderly depressive patients and the correlation between the degree of depression and disability caused by tinnitus. Methods: A total of 126 patients with DSM-V depression in geriatric ward and outpatient department of Hefei Fourth People's Hospital from May 2019 to August 2019 were collected. Patients with depression accompanied by tinnitus were screened according to the standardization of tinnitus. According to the occurrence of tinnitus,

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... patients were divided into depressive tinnitus group and depressive non-tinnitus group. The tinnitus disability scale (THI) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) were used to evaluate the degree of tinnitus disability and depression in patients. The difference of the degree of depression between the two groups was compared, and the correlation between the degree of depression and tinnitus disability was evaluated. Results: Tinnitus occurred in 34 out of 126 elderly depressive patients (27%). Compared with non-tinnitus depression group, the total score of HAMD (t=3.727, p<0.01) and factor score of somatization (t=3.33, p=0.01), cognitive impairment (t=2.961, p=0.04), sleep disorder (t=4.04, p<0.01) and despair (t=4.604, p<0.01) in tinnitus depression group were significantly higher than those in non-tinnitus depression group. Spearman correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between the disability grade of tinnitus and the degree of depression (r=0.377, P=0.033).Pearson correlation analysis showed that the total score of THI was positively correlated with the total score of HAMD (r=0.442, P=0.011). Further analysis of the correlation between the total score of THI and the factors of HAMD showed that the total score of THI was positively correlated with cognitive impairment of factor score (r=0.434, P=0.010), but not with body weight, block, sleep disorder, despair, day and night changes and somatization. Conclusion: The incidence of tinnitus is higher in elderly depressive patients, and there is a certain correlation between the degree of tinnitus disability and the degree of depression.