Multidisciplinary Approach Lessens Tinnitus Severity

Outcomes were better when cognitive-behavioral therapy was added to audiological therapies.

Tinnitus is common and potentially debilitating; treatment is not standardized and often is fragmented and poorly coordinated. Audiological therapies, such as habituation to an external sound generator, often are employed, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proposed as a treatment. Neither approach has been evaluated rigorously.

Netherlands researchers surveyed audiological referral centers to define a “usual care” protocol that consisted primarily of audiological interventions, with an added social work component when indicated. They then randomized 492 patients with tinnitus to this usual-care protocol or to a multidisciplinary approach. In the latter approach, audiological interventions were enhanced with CBT-based educationa…

Reviewing Authors

Bruce Soloway, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsNew RoAR News (http://www.newroarnews.org)

Bruce Soloway, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsNew RoAR News (http://www.newroarnews.org)

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)

Jonathan Silver, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience