Investigation of the Effectiveness of Sound Enrichment in the Treatment of Tinnitus Due to Hearing Loss

[Vadimus]

The results are very impressive. The program used in the study to create the therapy (Praat program) seems to be free and available for download.

Methods

A total of 96 patients with chronic tinnitus were included in the study. Fifty‐two patients in the study group and 44 patients in the placebo group considered residual inhibition (RI) outcomes and tinnitus pitches. Both groups received sound enrichment treatment with different spectrum contents. The tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), visual analog scale (VAS), minimum masking level (MML), and tinnitus loudness level (TLL) results were compared before and at 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment.

Results

There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in THI, VAS, MML, and TLL scores from the first month to all months after treatment (p < .01). For the study group, there was a statistically significant decrease in THI, VAS, MML, and TLL scores in the first month (p < .01). This decrease continued at a statistically significant level in the third month of posttreatment for THI (p < .05) and at all months for VAS‐1 (tinnitus severity) (p < .05) and VAS‐2 (tinnitus discomfort) (p < .05).

Conclusion

In clinical practice, after excluding other factors related to the tinnitus etiology, sound enrichment treatment can be effective in tinnitus cases where RI is positive and the tinnitus pitch is matched with a hearing loss between 45 and 55 dB HL in a relatively short period of 1 month.

Table 2 shows the VAS scores of the patients during the treatment and the statistical evaluation between the groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups for time‐dependent change of VAS scores (tinnitus severity, p < .001, tinnitus discomfort, p < .001, attention deficit, p < .001, and sleep difficulty, p < .001). VAS scores in the study group decreased statistically significantly during the treatment process (tinnitus severity, p < .001, tinnitus discomfort, p < .001, attention deficit, p < .001, and sleep difficulty, p < .001), whereas no statistically significant difference was observed in the placebo group (tinnitus severity, p = .74, tinnitus discomfort, p = .65, attention deficit, p = .57, and sleep difficulty, p = .63) during the treatment process.

Table 3 shows the THI scores of the patients during the treatment and the statistical evaluation between the groups. There was a statistically significant difference between the groups for the time‐dependent change of THI scores (p < .001). THI scores in the study group decreased statistically significantly during the treatment process (p < .001), whereas no statistically significant difference was observed in the placebo group (p = .59).

Investigation of the effectiveness of sound enrichment in the treatment of tinnitus due to hearing loss