Patient Acceptance of Invasive Treatments for Tinnitus

Abstract

A considerable proportion of patients with tinnitus would accept a variety of invasive treatments despite the associated risks or costs. When clinical neuromodulatory studies for tinnitus are to be performed, particular attention should be given to obtaining informed consent, including explaining the potential risks and providing a realistic outcome expectation.

Invasive Neuromodulation as a Treatment for Tinnitus: A Systematic Review

“…However, the discussed trials concerning these regions only include patients with severe hearing loss or even deafness, making it hard to evaluate the possible hearing damage .However, research concerning the willingness of tinnitus patients to undergo brain surgery for tinnitus showed that 70% of 439 patients with severe tinnitus would accept implantation of a stimulator to reduce the distress caused by tinnitus and most patients would spend up to 5000 dollars to lose their tinnitus . The willingness to undergo invasive treatments for tinnitus was also confirmed by a recent study by Smit et al .…”

The Utility of Economic Measures to Quantify the Burden of Tinnitus in Affected Individuals: A Scoping Review

“…Second, we discuss the utility of these economic measures in quantifying the burden of tinnitus in affected individuals. Although it is impossible to draw any general conclusion from the three WTP studies, available data showed that patients with severe tinnitus would be willing to pay around an average annual salary in their countries [61,63]. Compared to the costs [17,18], these amounts are relatively high, indicating a potential economic benefit in finding a tinnitus treatment.…”

“…In available studies [61][62][63], participants' WTP for treatment was assessed via close-ended questionnaires. In two studies [61,62], choices given to participants' comprised the following WTP categories: US$1000, US$5000, US$10,000, US$25,000, and US$50,000.…”

“…In two studies [61,62], choices given to participants' comprised the following WTP categories: US$1000, US$5000, US$10,000, US$25,000, and US$50,000. In Smit et al [63], the options to be considered were listed as a proportion of the participant's monthly income and ranged from less than one fourth to more than 20 times. Various generic preference-based HRQoL instruments were used to calculate QALYs: HUI2 (n = 1) [58], HUI3 (n = 2) [53,58], EQ-5D (n = 3) [53,57,58], SF-6D [58] (n = 1), and QWS (n = 2) [55,56].…”

“…However, the THI is criticised for lacking sensitivity to change [31,68]. The authors were concerned that the results were obtained from the selected samples (tinnitus self-help group [62], members of a society of tinnitus patients [63], street sample [48]) and therefore could not be extrapolated to the general tinnitus population. The main findings and the research gaps discussed above are summarised in Table 3.…”