Cochrane corner: Sound therapy (using amplification devices and/or sound generators) for tinnitus

Abstract

This Cochrane Corner features "Sound therapy (using amplification devices or sound generators) for tinnitus" published in 2018. Sereda et al. identified eight clinical trials including 590 participants receiving sound therapy for tinnitus. None of the included studies addressed three main comparisons of the review (comparing hearing aids, sound generators and combination devices with a waiting list control group, placebo or education/information only). One study compared patients fitted with sound generators versus those fitted with hearing aids and found no difference between them in their effects on tinnitus symptom severity. The use of both types of device was associated with a clinically significant reduction in tinnitus symptom severity. Three studies compared hearing aids with a sound generator to hearing aids alone and measured tinnitus symptom severity. The use of both types of device was again associated with a clinically significant reduction in tinnitus symptom severity. This Cochrane review shows that both hearing aids and sound generators may be beneficial for reducing tinnitus severity in some patients, but that there is insufficient evidence at this stage to recommend one device over another, or whether these devices offer any improvement over a placebo treatment.

Keywords: Tinnitus; assistive technology; hearing aids.