Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design
Background: The psychological effects of hearing aids and auditory training are underinvestigated. Objective: To assess the short- and long-term effects of an industry-developed auditory training on tinnitus-related distress, perceived stress, and psychological epiphenomena in patients with chronic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/7/1764 |
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| author | Benjamin Boecking Leonie Rausch Stamatina Psatha Amarjargal Nyamaa Juliane Dettling-Papargyris Christine Funk Petra Brueggemann Matthias Rose Birgit Mazurek |
| author_facet | Benjamin Boecking Leonie Rausch Stamatina Psatha Amarjargal Nyamaa Juliane Dettling-Papargyris Christine Funk Petra Brueggemann Matthias Rose Birgit Mazurek |
| author_sort | Benjamin Boecking |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The psychological effects of hearing aids and auditory training are underinvestigated. Objective: To assess the short- and long-term effects of an industry-developed auditory training on tinnitus-related distress, perceived stress, and psychological epiphenomena in patients with chronic tinnitus and mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Method: One-hundred-seventy-seven gender-stratified patients were randomized to an immediate [IIG] or delayed [DIG] intervention group. Following binaural hearing aid fitting, participants completed a CD-enhanced 14-days self-study program. Applying a randomized-controlled cross-over design, psychological measures were obtained at four times: pre-treatment/wait [IIG: t<sub>1</sub>; DIG: wait], post-treatment/pre-treatment [IIG: t<sub>2</sub>; DIG: t<sub>1</sub>], follow-up/post-treatment [IIG: t<sub>3</sub>; DIG: t<sub>2</sub>], and <i>follow-up</i> [DIG: t<sub>3</sub>]. Between- and within-group analyses investigated treatment-related effects and their stability at a 70-day follow-up. Results: Overall, distress symptom severity was mild. Unlike the DIG, the IIG showed significant improvements in tinnitus-related distress. Some psychological epiphenomena, notably anxiety, slightly improved in both groups. Within-group analyses demonstrated the stability of the tinnitus-distress-related effects, alongside uncontrolled improvements of perceived stress and mood-related symptoms at follow-up. Conclusions: The investigated hearing therapy lastingly improves tinnitus-related distress in mildly distressed patients with chronic tinnitus and mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Beneficial psychological knock-on effects deserve further investigation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:44:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0af09398ac9645cdbe8c50a731a00e24 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:44:08Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-0af09398ac9645cdbe8c50a731a00e242023-11-30T23:26:32ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832022-03-01117176410.3390/jcm11071764Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over DesignBenjamin Boecking0Leonie Rausch1Stamatina Psatha2Amarjargal Nyamaa3Juliane Dettling-Papargyris4Christine Funk5Petra Brueggemann6Matthias Rose7Birgit Mazurek8Tinnitus Centre, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyTinnitus Centre, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyTinnitus Centre, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyTinnitus Centre, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyTerzo Institute, ISMA AG, 96515 Sonneberg, GermanyTerzo Institute, ISMA AG, 96515 Sonneberg, GermanyTinnitus Centre, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyMedical Department, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyTinnitus Centre, Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 10117 Berlin, GermanyBackground: The psychological effects of hearing aids and auditory training are underinvestigated. Objective: To assess the short- and long-term effects of an industry-developed auditory training on tinnitus-related distress, perceived stress, and psychological epiphenomena in patients with chronic tinnitus and mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Method: One-hundred-seventy-seven gender-stratified patients were randomized to an immediate [IIG] or delayed [DIG] intervention group. Following binaural hearing aid fitting, participants completed a CD-enhanced 14-days self-study program. Applying a randomized-controlled cross-over design, psychological measures were obtained at four times: pre-treatment/wait [IIG: t<sub>1</sub>; DIG: wait], post-treatment/pre-treatment [IIG: t<sub>2</sub>; DIG: t<sub>1</sub>], follow-up/post-treatment [IIG: t<sub>3</sub>; DIG: t<sub>2</sub>], and <i>follow-up</i> [DIG: t<sub>3</sub>]. Between- and within-group analyses investigated treatment-related effects and their stability at a 70-day follow-up. Results: Overall, distress symptom severity was mild. Unlike the DIG, the IIG showed significant improvements in tinnitus-related distress. Some psychological epiphenomena, notably anxiety, slightly improved in both groups. Within-group analyses demonstrated the stability of the tinnitus-distress-related effects, alongside uncontrolled improvements of perceived stress and mood-related symptoms at follow-up. Conclusions: The investigated hearing therapy lastingly improves tinnitus-related distress in mildly distressed patients with chronic tinnitus and mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Beneficial psychological knock-on effects deserve further investigation.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/7/1764auditory traininghearing aidsmild-to-moderate hearing losstinnitus-related distresspsychological epiphenomena |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin Boecking Leonie Rausch Stamatina Psatha Amarjargal Nyamaa Juliane Dettling-Papargyris Christine Funk Petra Brueggemann Matthias Rose Birgit Mazurek Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design Journal of Clinical Medicine auditory training hearing aids mild-to-moderate hearing loss tinnitus-related distress psychological epiphenomena |
| title | Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design |
| title_full | Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design |
| title_fullStr | Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design |
| title_short | Hearing Therapy Improves Tinnitus-Related Distress in Mildly Distressed Patients with Chronic Tinnitus and Mild-to-Moderate Hearing Loss: A Randomized-Controlled Cross-Over Design |
| title_sort | hearing therapy improves tinnitus related distress in mildly distressed patients with chronic tinnitus and mild to moderate hearing loss a randomized controlled cross over design |
| topic | auditory training hearing aids mild-to-moderate hearing loss tinnitus-related distress psychological epiphenomena |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/11/7/1764 |
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