Ying-Hsu Juan1,2,3, Chiu-Tien Hsu4, Juen-Haur Hwang5,6,7. 1. Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chiayi, Taiwan, R.O.C. 2. Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C. 3. School of Post-Baccalaureate Chinese Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, R.O.C. 4. Department of Clinical Psychology, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chiayi, Taiwan, R.O.C. 5. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chiayi, Taiwan, R.O.C. g120796@tzuchi.com.tw. 6. School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan, R.O.C. 7. Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Patients with tinnitus suffer not only from auditory dysfunction but also physical, mental, and social difficulties. Our aim was to investigate the outcomes of our triple-combination therapy for chronic tinnitus, which includes narrow-band noise masking, auricular acupuncture and cognitive behavioral therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) scores of 78 adults with chronic tinnitus who received triple-combination therapy for 12 weeks were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: There were 39 females and 39 males in this study. The mean age was 60.5 years [standard deviation (SD)=13.0, range=27-88 years] for all subjects. Mean pure tone average=39.5 decibel hearing level (SD=23.09). Pre-treatment mean THI score was 41.4 (SD=21.13), functional (F) subscore was 17.9 (SD=10.69), emotional (E) subscore was 10.6 (SD=6.87), and catastrophic (C) subscore was 12.9 (SD=4.85). Post-treatment THI total score was significantly lower compared to pre-treatment THI total score. Also, post-treatment subscores were significantly lower compared to pre-treatment subscores in F and C subsocres, but not in E subscore. In addition, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that coffee and tea consumption was significantly positively associated with a reduction of THI total score. CONCLUSION: Triple-combination therapy could be helpful for chronic tinnitus patients. It seemed that coffee and tea consumption may elicit increased improvement in conjunction with combined therapy for chronic tinnitus. Copyright
BACKGROUND/AIM: Patients with tinnitus suffer not only from auditory dysfunction but also physical, mental, and social difficulties. Our aim was to investigate the outcomes of our triple-combination therapy for chronic tinnitus, which includes narrow-band noise masking, auricular acupuncture and cognitive behavioral therapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) scores of 78 adults with chronic tinnitus who received triple-combination therapy for 12 weeks were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: There were 39 females and 39 males in this study. The mean age was 60.5 years [standard deviation (SD)=13.0, range=27-88 years] for all subjects. Mean pure tone average=39.5 decibel hearing level (SD=23.09). Pre-treatment mean THI score was 41.4 (SD=21.13), functional (F) subscore was 17.9 (SD=10.69), emotional (E) subscore was 10.6 (SD=6.87), and catastrophic (C) subscore was 12.9 (SD=4.85). Post-treatment THI total score was significantly lower compared to pre-treatment THI total score. Also, post-treatment subscores were significantly lower compared to pre-treatment subscores in F and C subsocres, but not in E subscore. In addition, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that coffee and tea consumption was significantly positively associated with a reduction of THI total score. CONCLUSION: Triple-combination therapy could be helpful for chronic tinnituspatients. It seemed that coffee and tea consumption may elicit increased improvement in conjunction with combined therapy for chronic tinnitus. Copyright