OBJECTIVES: Habituation to tinnitus cannot occur with total masking, an argument made by proponents of "tinnitus retraining therapy." We also compared the effectiveness of retraining therapy with mixing-point masking, total masking, and with counseling alone. DESIGN:Forty-eight tinnitus patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: counseling, counseling plus bilateral noise generators set to completely mask the tinnitus, or counseling plus bilateral noise generators with a focus on the mixing point (partial masking just below total masking). A picture-based counseling protocol was used to assist in providing similar counseling among all three groups. The Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire was administered before and after about 12 months of treatment. RESULTS: After 12 months, in the counseling group, three of 18 patients benefited significantly, in the mixing-point group, six of 19 patients benefited, and in the total masking group, four of 11 patients benefited from the treatment. The average decrease in the questionnaire was 16.7% for the counseling group, 31.6% for the retraining group, and 36.4% for the total masking group. No significant average differences among groups were observed. CONCLUSIONS: One premise of retraining therapy is incorrect; a focus on mixing-point masking is not required for habituation.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: Habituation to tinnitus cannot occur with total masking, an argument made by proponents of "tinnitus retraining therapy." We also compared the effectiveness of retraining therapy with mixing-point masking, total masking, and with counseling alone. DESIGN: Forty-eight tinnituspatients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: counseling, counseling plus bilateral noise generators set to completely mask the tinnitus, or counseling plus bilateral noise generators with a focus on the mixing point (partial masking just below total masking). A picture-based counseling protocol was used to assist in providing similar counseling among all three groups. The Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire was administered before and after about 12 months of treatment. RESULTS: After 12 months, in the counseling group, three of 18 patients benefited significantly, in the mixing-point group, six of 19 patients benefited, and in the total masking group, four of 11 patients benefited from the treatment. The average decrease in the questionnaire was 16.7% for the counseling group, 31.6% for the retraining group, and 36.4% for the total masking group. No significant average differences among groups were observed. CONCLUSIONS: One premise of retraining therapy is incorrect; a focus on mixing-point masking is not required for habituation.
Authors: Gentiana I Wenzel; Petra Sarnes; Athanasia Warnecke; Timo Stöver; Burkard Jäger; Anke Lesinski-Schiedat; Thomas Lenarz Journal: Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol Date: 2014-12-06 Impact factor: 2.503
Authors: Roberta W Scherer; Craig Formby; Susan Gold; Sue Erdman; Charles Rodhe; Michele Carlson; Dave Shade; Melanie Tucker; Lee McCaffrey Sensinger; Gordon Hughes; George S Conley; Naomi Downey; Cynthia Eades; Margaret Jylkka; Ada Haber-Perez; Courtney Harper; Shoshannah Kantor Russell; Benigno Sierra-Irizarry; Mark Sullivan Journal: Trials Date: 2014-10-15 Impact factor: 2.279