Smartphone-Guided Educational Counseling and Self-Help for Chronic Tinnitus.

ABSTRACT: Tinnitus is an auditory phantom perception in the ears or head in the absence of a corresponding external stimulus. There is currently no effective treatment available that reliably reduces tinnitus. Educational counseling is a treatment approach that aims to educate patients and inform them about possible coping strategies. For this feasibility study, we implemented educational material and self-help advice in a smartphone app. Participants used the educational smartphone app unsupervised during their daily routine over a period of four months. Comparing the tinnitus outcome measures before and after smartphone-guided treatment, we measured changes in tinnitus-related distress, but not in tinnitus loudness. Improvements on the Tinnitus Severity numeric rating scale reached an effect size

SUBMITTER: Schlee W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8999555 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature