Hearing aids as an adjunct to counseling: Tinnitus patients who choose amplification do better than those that don't

Searchfield, Grant D.; Kaur, Manpreet; Martin, William H.

doi:10.3109/14992021003777267

Cited by 113 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…One study has even reported that the degree of tinnitus impact increases with the degree of hearing loss (Mazurek, Olze, Haupt, & Szczepek, 2010). Further, numerous studies have reported that provision of hearing aids for patients with bothersome tinnitus tends to mitigate their reactions to tinnitus (McNeill, Tavora-Vieira, Alnafjan, Searchfield, & Welch, 2012;Searchfield, Kaur, & Martin, 2010;Shekhawat, Searchfield, & Stinear, 2013). The conclusions from all of these studies are based on the assumption that scores on the tinnitus questionnaires indicate distress due to tinnitus alone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tinnitus and Hearing Survey: A Screening Tool to Differentiate Bothersome Tinnitus From Hearing Difficulties

et al. 2015

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Purpose: Individuals complaining of tinnitus often attribute hearing problems to the tinnitus. In such cases some (or all) of their reported "tinnitus distress" may in fact be caused by trouble communicating due to hearing problems. We developed the Tinnitus and Hearing Survey (THS) as a tool to rapidly differentiate hearing problems from tinnitus problems. Method: For 2 of our research studies, we administered the THS twice (mean of 16.5 days between tests) to 67 participants who did not receive intervention. These data allow for measures of statistical validation of the THS. Results: Reliability of the THS was good to excellent regarding internal consistency (a = .86-.94), test-retest reliability (r = .76-.83), and convergent validity between the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (Newman, Jacobson, & Spitzer, 1996;Newman, Sandridge, & Jacobson, 1998) and the A (Tinnitus) subscale of the THS (r = .78). Factor analysis confirmed that the 2 subscales, A (Tinnitus) and B (Hearing), have strong internal structure, explaining 71.7% of the total variance, and low correlation with each other (r = .46), resulting in a small amount of shared variance (21%). Conclusion: These results provide evidence that the THS is statistically validated and reliable for use in assisting patients and clinicians in quickly (and collaboratively) determining whether intervention for tinnitus is appropriate.T innitus has been defined as head or ear noise lasting at least 5 min and occurring more than once a week (Dauman & Tyler, 1992). For most people who have tinnitus, the sound is constant or near-constant. Epidemiologic studies reveal that tinnitus is experienced by 10%-15% of the adult populations in different countries (Heller, 2003;Hoffman & Reed, 2004;Shargorodsky, Curhan, & Farwell, 2010). It is often reported that for about 80% of those who experience tinnitus, the tinnitus is not particularly bothersome, and clinical intervention for the tinnitus is not required (Cima, Vlaeyen, Maes, Joore, & Anteunis, 2011; Davis & Refaie, 2000;Jastreboff & Hazell, 1998;Krog, Engdahl, & Tambs, 2010). When intervention for tinnitus is desired by, and appropriate for, a given patient, the amount of intervention provided should depend on the individual's specific needs Tyler & Baker, 1983).Dobie's (2004) multilevel pyramid analogy is helpful in conceptualizing how tinnitus affects people differently (see Figure 1). The base of the pyramid contains those who have tinnitus but are not bothered by it. The next higher level contains people whose tinnitus is "bothersome," ranging from "mild" to "moderate" to "severe." The tip of the pyramid contains those relatively few individuals who are "debilitated" by their tinnitus. This pyramid analogy highlights the fact that most people who experience tinnitus do not need clinical intervention specific to the tinnitus. Those who do differ widely with respect to their clinical needs, ranging from answering a few questions (e.g., they want assurance that their tinnitus does not reflect some serious disease) to providin...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tinnitus and Hearing Survey: A Screening Tool to Differentiate Bothersome Tinnitus From Hearing Difficulties

et al. 2015

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“…Several therapeutic approaches-including counseling and behavioral therapy (Andersson & McKenna, 2006;Cima, Andersson, Schmidt, & Henry, 2014;Tyler, Stouffer, & Schum, 1989;Wilson, Henry, Andersson, Hallam, & Lindberg, 1998), the provision of hearing aids (Kochkin & Tyler, 2008;Kochkin, Tyler, & Born, 2011;Searchfield, Kaur, & Martin, 2010;Shekhawat, Searchfield, & Stinear, 2013), and sound therapy devices (Hoare, Searchfield, El Refaie, & Henry, 2014;Tyler, Stocking, Secor, & Slattery, 2014)-can be effective for many people.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Series of Case Studies of Tinnitus Suppression With Mixed Background Stimuli in a Cochlear Implant

et al. 2015

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Purpose Background sounds provided by a wearable sound playback device were mixed with the acoustical input picked up by a cochlear implant speech processor in an attempt to suppress tinnitus. Method First, patients were allowed to listen to several sounds and to select up to 4 sounds that they thought might be effective. These stimuli were programmed to loop continuously in the wearable playback device. Second, subjects were instructed to use 1 background sound each day on the wearable device, and they sequenced the selected background sounds during a 28-day trial. Patients were instructed to go to a website at the end of each day and rate the loudness and annoyance of the tinnitus as well as the acceptability of the background sound. Patients completed the Tinnitus Primary Function Questionnaire (Tyler, Stocking, Secor, & Slattery, 2014) at the beginning of the trial. Results Results indicated that background sounds were very effective at suppressing tinnitus. There was considerable variability in sounds preferred by the subjects. Conclusion The study shows that a background sound mixed with the microphone input can be effective for suppressing tinnitus during daily use of the sound processor in selected cochlear implant users.

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“…Searchfield et al 48 carried out a study to quantify the effectiveness of hearing aids and counselling as a tinnitus treatment option. THQ scores were calculated for pre and post intervention in 58 tinnitus patients receiving counselling with hearing aid and without hearing aid.…”

Section: Parazzini Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Treatment of Tinnitus: A Scoping Review

Makar¹,

Mukundan²,

Gore³

2017

The International Tinnitus Journal

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Background: Tinnitus is a perception of an auditory sensation without the presence of an external sound. It has devastating impact on the quality of life and psychosocial aspect of the sufferer. Mechanisms of tinnitus not clear; however, its management include counselling, hearing aids, tinnitus masking, relaxation therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy and tinnitus retraining therapy. Objective: To conduct a scoping review to explore the role of counselling, hearing aids, tinnitus masking, relaxation therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy and tinnitus retraining therapy in India. To also provide an overview of efficacy of these approaches in tinnitus management. Research Design: Scoping review. Study Sample: Experimental studies, follow-up assessments, and reviews assessing tinnitus treatment approaches were identified as a result of an electronic database met search. Results: The evidence suggests that all tinnitus management programs have their unique benefits in the treatment of tinnitus. Given the confounding variables that include length of therapy, tinnitus severity and subject population, the overall level of evidence is equivocal. Nonetheless, the efficacy of CBT appears reasonably established and combined approach (masking + counselling + attention diversion) appears to be most promising for audiologists for future tinnitus management. A common ground of therapeutic elements was established and evidence was found to be robust enough to guide clinical practice. Conclusion: The use of more robust methodology with well-defined control groups, as well as randomization of clinical trials in future studies would increase the quality of evidence in the study of tinnitus management. Clinical recommendation: Combined therapies (masking + counselling + attention diversion) appear more appropriate in the treatment of tinnitus as the evidence is not sufficient to support a specific treatment method.

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Hearing aids as an adjunct to counseling: Tinnitus patients who choose amplification do better than those that don't

Cited by 113 publications

References 26 publications

Tinnitus and Hearing Survey: A Screening Tool to Differentiate Bothersome Tinnitus From Hearing Difficulties

Tinnitus and Hearing Survey: A Screening Tool to Differentiate Bothersome Tinnitus From Hearing Difficulties

A Series of Case Studies of Tinnitus Suppression With Mixed Background Stimuli in a Cochlear Implant

Treatment of Tinnitus: A Scoping Review

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