Adapting Personal Therapies Using a Mobile Application for Tinnitus Rehabilitation: A Preliminary Study. (June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Abouzari, Mehdi; Goshtasbi, Khodayar; Sarna, Brooke; Ghavami, Yaser; Parker, Erica M.; Khosravi, Pooya; Mostaghni, Navid; Jamshidi, Shahrnaz; Saber, Tina; Djalilian, Hamid R.
• Is Part Of: Annals of otology, rhinology & laryngology. Volume 130:Number 6(2021)
• Page Start: 571
• Page End: 577
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Subjects: tinnitus -- cognitive behavioral therapy -- sound therapy -- mobile application -- iOS -- Android; Otolaryngology -- Periodicals; 617.51
• DOI: 10.1177/0003489420962818
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-4894

Abstract

Objectives: To develop a smartphone application providing sound therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for treating tinnitus and performing a proof-of-concept pilot study evaluating its potential efficacy. Methods: An interactive smartphone application available on iOS and Android platforms was developed, which provided an 8-week tinnitus-specific CBT and personalized and frequency-matched sound therapy. Included patients presented to our tertiary clinic between 2017 and 2018, while those waitlisted were regarded as controls. Three surveys were administrated: Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results: A total of 30 patients enrolled in this study consisting of 20 treatment and 10 control patients and mean age was 55.4 ± 11.6 years. Treatment and control patients had similar age, sex, and pre-enrolment GAD and PSS (all P > .05). Baseline THI scores were also similar between treatment and control cohorts (50.1 ± 21.9 vs 62.0 ± 20.7; P = .15). After 8 weeks, though changes in GAD and PSS scores were similar ( P > .05), the treatment group reported a significantly greater improvement in THI scores (17.7 ± 15.8 vs 5.3 ± 10.5, P = .04). Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrated potentially promising efficacy of a smartphone-based CBT and sound therapy platform for treating tinnitus and encourages future randomized controlled trials on this treatment modality.