Assessing the effects of tinnitus retraining therapy in patients lost to follow-up: a telephone survey.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), especially in patients who did not revisit the clinic after starting the program, and to determine the current status of patients who were lost to follow-up.

Study Design: Telephone survey.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Patients: Forty-seven patients enrolled in a TRT program at Seoul National University Hospital. Twenty-four patients who regularly visited the clinic were deemed the good follow-up (GF) group, and 23 patients who did not return after the initial counseling were deemed the follow-up loss (FL) group.

Interventions: Post-TRT questionnaires with the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and a tinnitus visual analog scale (VAS), performed with a telephone survey.

Main Outcome Measures: TRT efficacy, evaluated via the THI, and tinnitus VAS scores. A questionnaire on reasons for non-attendance after TRT was used.

Results: Pre-TRT VAS and THI scores showed no significant difference between groups. After TRT, both groups showed significant decreases in tinnitus VAS and THI scores. Post-TRT VAS scores for awareness, effects on daily life, and post-TRT THI scores were significantly lower in the FL group.

Conclusions: Treatment outcomes were better in the FL group than in the GF group in several parameters. The FL group was greatly influenced by the first TRT counseling and obtained sufficient relief that they no longer felt the need for additional treatment. Treatment outcomes in patients lost to follow-up may not be as bad as presumed.