Efficacy of Amplification With Hearing Aids for Tinnitus Relief

Education University of Hong Kong64 enrolled

Overview

This study evaluates the treatment efficacy of tinnitus in people with mild hearing loss. One-third of participants will use hearing aid, one-third of participants will use customized music, while the other one-third participants will receive no treatment (waiting list control).

Acoustic stimulation could induce plastic changes in the auditory cortex, and tinnitus mechanisms have been viewed as a negative consequence of neural plasticity in the central nervous system after peripheral aggression. Cortical changes (neural activity in the deafferented cortical area was reduced but the adjacent frequencies of the hearing loss region activated more extensive cortical areas) occur after sensorineural hearing loss, while exposure to an acoustically enriched environment or using hearing aids may minimize or reverse the plastic tonotopic map changes in the auditory cortex. The use of hearing aids in tinnitus management for people with significant hearing loss will always be associated with an improvement in hearing handicap and quality of life, and that complicates the interpretation of how much hearing aids specifically affect tinnitus. Thus studies on tinnitus patients with mild hearing loss could be illuminating, and this population will be targeted in the present study.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Tinnitus, Subjective Hearing Impairment

Interventions

Amplification with hearing aidDEVICE

Use of hearing aids

Customized musicDEVICE

Customized music delivered via an iPod

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * 18 years old or above * can provide written informed consent * have a diagnosis of subjective tinnitus, i.e., the tinnitus can only be heard by the patient and there is no acoustic source * a tinnitus duration of more than one year * have pure-tone average between 20 and 40 dB HL * have bilateral symmetrical hearing loss (i.e. difference less than 15 dB) * have at least a medium level of distress caused by tinnitus as indicated with total scores above 30 on the TQ-CH * are committed to complete the 12-month follow-up Exclusion Criteria: * objective tinnitus, i.e. tinnitus produced by an internal acoustic source activating the cochlea and can be heard by another person * received other forms of tinnitus treatments within three months before the baseline assessment session * any history suggestive of psychiatric illness * psychological distress or depression as indicated with total scores at or above 15 on the Cantonese HADS * current hearing aid users * inability to complete the study as revealed by the medical reports

Locations (1)

The Education University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

The Tinnitus Functional Index (Chinese version) (TFI-CH)

TFI-CH is a 25-item self-administered questionnaire which assesses eight domains of tinnitus impact: intrusiveness; sense of control; cognitive; sleep; auditory; relaxation; quality of life (QoL); emotion. The total TFI score ranges 0 - 100, the higher score is indicative of greater problem with tinnitus.

Time frame: Change from baseline value at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after the first day of treatment will be measured.

Secondary Outcomes

The Tinnitus Questionnaire (Chinese version) (TQ-CH) scores

The TQ-CH is a 52-item questionnaire which assesses five dimensions of tinnitus complaint: emotional distress; auditory perceptual difficulties; intrusiveness; sleep disturbance; and somatic complaints. The total TQ score ranges 0 - 104, the higher score is indicative of greater problem with tinnitus.

Time frame: Change from baseline value at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after the first day of treatment will be measured.

The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (Chinese version) (THI-CH) scores

The THI-CH is a reliable 25-item self-administered Chinese QoL tool that quantifies the impact of tinnitus on daily living. The total THI score ranges 0 - 100, the higher score is indicative of greater tinnitus handicap.

Time frame: Change from baseline value at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after the first day of treatment will be measured.

Self-rated Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) on tinnitus loudness

The subjects will be asked to rate the perceived loudness of their tinnitus on VAS, with "inaudible" (scale rating value = 0) and "very loud" (scale rating value = 100) as reference points for the ends of the scale. The higher rating is indicative of louder tinnitus.

Time frame: Change from baseline value at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after the first day of treatment will be measured.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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