Tinnitus Education for Audiologists Is a Ship at Sea: Is It Coming or Going?

Subjective tinnitus is a highly prevalent sound sensation produced in most cases by persistent neural activity in the auditory pathway of the patient. Audiologists should be confident that they can employ elements of sound therapy and related counseling to support patients in coping. However, patients with bothersome tinnitus may be challenged by mental health complications, and they struggle to find adequate care when tinnitus and psychological distress co-occur.

Tinnitus and Traumatic Memory.

Events linked to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) influence psychological and physical health through the generation, exacerbation, and maintenance of symptoms such as anxiety, hyperarousal, and avoidance. Depending upon circumstance, traumatic events may also contribute to the onset of tinnitus, post-traumatic headache, and memory problems. PTSD should be considered a psychological injury, andwhile tinnitus is a symptom, its onset and sound quality may be connected in memory to the injury, thereby evincingthe capacity to exacerbate the trauma's effects.

Internet-Based Audiologist-Guided Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Tinnitus: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Tinnitus is a symptom that can be very distressing owing to hearing sounds not related to any external sound source. Managing tinnitus is notoriously difficult, and access to evidence-based care is limited. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a tinnitus management strategy with the most evidence of effectiveness but is rarely offered to those distressed by tinnitus.

Use of open-ended questionnaires to examine the effects of tinnitus and its relation to patient-reported outcome measures.

Objective: The primary aim of the study was to examine the automated linguistic analysis of the open-ended problem (PQ) and life-effects (LEQ) questionnaires to understand the psychological effects of tinnitus.

Design: The study used a cross-sectional design. Participants completed online questionnaires which included demographic questions, several standardised patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and two open-ended questions focussing on PQ and LEQ related to tinnitus.

Medication Use Reported by Individuals With Tinnitus Who Are Seeking Internet-Based Psychological Interventions.

Purpose: This study examined medication use by individuals with tinnitus who were seeking help for their tinnitus by means of a psychological intervention.

Method: This study used a cross-sectional survey design and included individuals with tinnitus enrolled in an Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy trial ( = 439). Study participants provided demographic details, completed various structured questionnaires and provided details about the medications used.

Audiologist-Supported Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Tinnitus in the United States: A Pilot Trial.

Background Patients often report that living with a condition such as tinnitus can be debilitating, worrying, and frustrating. Efficient ways to foster management strategies for individuals with tinnitus and promoting tinnitus self-efficacy are needed. Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for tinnitus shows promise as an evidence-based intervention in Europe, but is not available in the United States.

Dismantling internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for tinnitus. The contribution of applied relaxation: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) for tinnitus is an evidence-based intervention. The components of ICBT for tinnitus have, however, not been dismantled and thus the effectiveness of the different therapeutic components is unknown. It is, furthermore, not known if heterogeneous tinnitus subgroups respond differently to ICBT.

Features, Functionality, and Acceptability of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Tinnitus in the United States.

Objective Although tinnitus is one of the most commonly reported symptoms in the general population, patients with bothersome tinnitus are challenged by issues related to accessibility of care and intervention options that lack strong evidence to support their use. Therefore, creative ways of delivering evidence-based interventions are necessary. Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) demonstrates potential as a means of delivering this support but is not currently available in the United States.

Readability Following Cultural and Linguistic Adaptations of an Internet-Based Intervention for Tinnitus for Use in the United States.

Purpose An Internet-based tinnitus intervention for use in the United States could improve the provision of tinnitus-related services. Although clinical trials of such interventions were completed in Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia, their suitability for adults with tinnitus in the United States is yet to be established. The aim of this study was to improve the cultural and linguistic suitability, and lower the readability level, of an existing program for tinnitus to ensure its suitability for U.

Translation and adaptation of three English tinnitus patient-reported outcome measures to Spanish.

The objective of this study was to improve the range of standardised tinnitus Spanish Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) available by translating and ensuring cross-cultural adaptation of three English PROMs to Spanish. The Tinnitus and Hearing Survey, Tinnitus Cognition Questionnaire, and Tinnitus Qualities Questionnaire were translated to Spanish using recently established good practice guidelines. The translation process addressed 22 items included in six main steps specified in the guidelines.

Tinnitus Self-Efficacy and Other Tinnitus Self-Report Variables in Patients With and Without Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Objective: Individuals with tinnitus and co-occurring psychological conditions typically rate their tinnitus as more disturbing than individuals without such comorbidities. Little is known about how tinnitus self-efficacy, or the confidence that individuals have in their abilities to successfully manage the effects of tinnitus, is influenced by mental or psychological health (PH) status. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of psychological state on tinnitus perceptions and tinnitus self-efficacy in individuals with chronic tinnitus.

Development of the self-efficacy for tinnitus management questionnaire.

Background: Self-efficacy refers to the beliefs (i.e., confidence) individuals have in their capabilities to perform skills needed to accomplish a specific goal or behavior.

The association between tinnitus and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Purpose: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects nearly 10% of the population, a prevalence comparable with that of tinnitus. Similarities between the way PTSD and tinnitus influence auditory behaviors include exaggerated startle responses and decreased loudness tolerance. Tinnitus loudness is often exacerbated by sounds that trigger PTSD-related anxiety.

Predicted gain and functional gain with transcranial routing of signal completely-in-the-canal hearing aids.

Transcranial routing of signal (TCROS) was accomplished using completely-in-the-canal (CIC) hearing aids in 5 profoundly unilaterally hearing-impaired individuals. The functional gain realized by the participants far exceeded the gain predicted by measuring the acoustic output and real ear aided response of the hearing aids. The difference between predicted and functional gain increased with signal frequency and was attributed at least in part to mechanical vibration of the hearing aid in the external canal.

The Occlusion Effect and Ear Canal Sound Pressure Level.

Comparisons were made between changes in the audibility of bone-conduction stimuli to differences in the sound pressure present in the external auditory canal when ears were occluded. Fifteen listeners with normal middle ear function were tested using pure tones of 250, 500, and 1000 Hz, delivered via a bone-conduction oscillator placed on the mastoid process and the frontal bone. At all three frequencies, and both sites of stimulation, ear canal sound pressures were greater in the occluded than in the unoccluded conditions.