Smartphone Apps in the Context of Tinnitus: Systematic Review

Abstract

Smartphones containing sophisticated high-end hardware and offering high computational capabilities at extremely manageable costs have become mainstream and an integral part of users’ lives. Widespread adoption of smartphone devices has encouraged the development of many smartphone applications, resulting in a well-established ecosystem, which is easily discoverable and accessible via respective marketplaces of differing mobile platforms. These smartphone applications are no longer exclusively limited to entertainment purposes but are increasingly established in the scientific and medical field. In the context of tinnitus, the ringing in the ear, these smartphone apps range from relief, management, self-help, all the way to interfacing external sensors to better understand the phenomenon. In this paper, we aim to bring forth the smartphone applications in and around tinnitus. Based on the PRISMA guidelines, we systematically analyze and investigate the current state of smartphone apps, that are directly applied in the context of tinnitus. In particular, we explore Google Scholar, CiteSeerX, Microsoft Academics, Semantic Scholar for the identification of scientific contributions. Additionally, we search and explore Google’s Play and Apple’s App Stores to identify relevant smartphone apps and their respective properties. This review work gives (1) an up-to-date overview of existing apps, and (2) lists and discusses scientific literature pertaining to the smartphone apps used within the context of tinnitus.

Contemporary Review of Smartphone Apps for Tinnitus Management and Treatment

“…Note that further research to determine the effectiveness of smartphone apps in different domains of healthcare is indispensable [ 25 , 26 ], as there is an indication that the smartphone apps can help patients in maintaining and mitigating their health problems [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Similarly, for tinnitus there exists a plethora of smartphone apps to help patients in mitigating and managing their tinnitus symptoms [ 30 ]. Although there has not been a cure or treatment for tinnitus, the usual course of action for treatment of tinnitus involves use of tinnitus retaining, sound, or cognitive behavioral therapies [ 1 ].…”

“…Consequently, in recent years, there has been a notable interest in development of smartphone apps aiming at helping patients for management and treatment of their tinnitus [ 30 ]. Few attempts on objective quality assessment of tinnitus-related smartphones apps have been reported [ 30 ], the clinical effectiveness of these smartphone apps within the context of tinnitus is still questionable. Although existing literature poses many articles reviewing healthcare apps in a more general context [ 31 ], very limited literature exists with a specific focus on tinnitus.…”

Contemporary and Systematic Review of Smartphone Apps for Tinnitus Management and Treatment

“…Note that further research to determine the effectiveness of smartphone apps in different domains of healthcare is indispensable [25,26], as there is an indication that the smartphone apps can help patients in maintaining and mitigating their health problems [27][28][29]. Similarly, for tinnitus there exists a plethora of smartphone apps to help patients in mitigating and managing their tinnitus symptoms [30]. Although there hasn't been a cure or treatment for tinnitus, the usual course of action for treatment of tinnitus involves use of tinnitus retaining, sound, or cognitive behavioral therapies [1].…”

“…Consequently, in recent years, there has been a notable interest in development of smartphone apps aiming at helping patients for management and treatment of their tinnitus [30]. However, the quality and clinical effectiveness of these smartphone apps within the context of tinnitus is still questionable.…”

Development of a Mobile-App Based Free Field Click Test Against Conventional Free Field Voice Test: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…One of the relief therapies analyzed is the mobile phonebased Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which proved to be bene cial to patients with tinnitus, which frequently accompanies hearing loss. 10 Our aim is to create a cost-effective, digital tool to screen hearing. Thus, we have designed an app using Flutter-Dart language, which is a programming tool used to create cross-platform mobile applications.…”