Abstract: Combination devices offering both amplification and sound therapy are commonly used in tinnitus management. However, there is insufficient evidence supporting the relationship between sound therapy and tinnitus outcomes. This study aimed to explore the longitudinal effects of sound therapy on tinnitus-related distress using a combination device with amplification, fractal music, and nature sounds. The conclusions of this study indicate that sound therapy is an effective method to manage tinnitus-related distress. We will also discuss the opportunities for future randomized controlled trials to allow for detangling the effect of sound therapy from amplification, counseling, placebo, and time. Combination devices offering both amplification and sound therapy are commonly used in tinnitus management. However, there is insufficient evidence supporting the relationship between sound therapy and tinnitus outcomes. This study aimed to explore the longitudinal effects of sound therapy on tinnitus-related distress using a combination device.
Twenty participants with tinnitus handicaps were fitted with combination devices that included three sound-therapy programs. The sound therapy programs were according to participants’ choosing from the available sounds that comprised fractal music, nature sounds, and combinations of the two. Participants were asked to wear the devices for twelve months and to complete questionnaires related to tinnitus distress at baseline and 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12 months after starting the treatment. Additionally, at 2, 4, 6, and 12 months, the device log data capturing information about amplification and sound-therapy use were collected.
Tinnitus handicap index (THI), tinnitus functional index (TFI), tinnitus awareness, and annoyance were decreased following the device fitting. This improvement plateaued at four months. The degrees of improvement in THI, TFI, and tinnitus annoyance were correlated with daily hours of sound therapy use but not with daily hours of amplification-only or total device use.
The conclusions of this study indicate that sound therapy is an effective method to manage tinnitus-related distress. We will also discuss the need for future randomized controlled trials to allow for detangling the effect of sound therapy from amplification, counseling, placebo, and time itself.
Learning Objectives:
describe the characteristics of combination devices in tinnitus management
analyze the correlation between improvement in tinnitus annoyance and daily hours of with sound-therapy or amplification alone
evaluate how future randomized controlled trials may allow for detangling of the effect of sound therapy from amplification, counselling, placebo, and time
