The Tinnitus Intensive Therapy Habituation Program: A 2-Year Follow-up Pilot Study on Subjective Tinnitus

Objectives: To explore the effects of a new tinnitus treatment program (tinnitus intensive therapy [TIT]) based on auditory perception principles and neural habituation. Methods: A follow-up study with measurement of treatment effects every third month over a 2-year period in which the cases were th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rehabilitation psychology 2009-05, Vol.54 (2), p.133-137
Main Authors: Bessman, Peter, Heider, Tom, Watten, Veslemøy P, Watten, Reidulf G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic Stimulation - instrumentation
Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Aged
Computer Simulation
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Germany
Habituation
Habituation, Psychophysiologic
Human
Humans
Male
Medical treatment
Middle Aged
Perceptual Masking
Pilot studies
Software
Sound Spectrography
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tinnitus
Tinnitus - etiology
Tinnitus - psychology
Tinnitus - rehabilitation
Treatment Effectiveness Evaluation
Treatment methods
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:Objectives: To explore the effects of a new tinnitus treatment program (tinnitus intensive therapy [TIT]) based on auditory perception principles and neural habituation. Methods: A follow-up study with measurement of treatment effects every third month over a 2-year period in which the cases were their own controls. Participants: There were 25 participants with a mean age 50.1 years ( SD = 16.1); 10 women (52.7 years; SD = 16.8) and 15 men (48.3 years; SD = 15.9). The participants were recruited from clinical population admitted to a polyclinic tinnitus treatment program in western Germany. Results: There was a significant reduction of tinnitus in the follow-up period. Mean baseline tinnitus scores (Tinnitus Fragebogen; Goebel & Hiller, 1998 ) at the start of the treatment were 50.9 ( SD = 14.5) and the final scores were 14.2 ( SD = 5.9). In total, the clinical improvement over the follow-up period was 72.1%. Conclusion: The TIT program showed a significant clinical treatment effect and should be tested further in a multicenter treatment project. The findings support the Jastreboff habituation model of tinnitus, but social cognitive factors should also be taken into account.
ISSN:0090-5550
1939-1544
DOI:10.1037/a0015660