Therapeutic Response of Tinnitus Retraining in Patients With Tinnitus and Hearing Loss: A Short-Term Comparisonal Study on the Effect of Hearing Aid

Background and Objectives Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is one of the most effective treatment methods for tinnitus. This study aimed to evaluate the treatment response to TRT in tinnitus patients with hearing loss and to analyze an additive treatment effect of an hearing aid. Subjects and Method In this retrospective observational case-control study, we reviewed the medical records of the 80 patients who were diagnosed with sensorineural tinnitus with mild to moderate hearing loss and managed by TRT. The changes of tinnitus after TRT with or without hearing aids were measured by the questionnaire of visual analog scale (VAS) and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after the treatment. Subjects were divided into two groups according to patients' hearing aided condition: non-hearing aided TRT group (NHAG, n=40) and hearing aided TRT group (HAG, n=40). Treatment responses to TRT from both groups were also compared. Results All VAS scores of loudness, awareness, annoyance and effect on life of tinnitus, and THI scores were significantly decreased in both groups at 1-year follow-up period (p<0.001). None of the delta scores of VAS and THI showed significant differences between two groups at 1-year follow-up period. Conclusion TRT turned out to be an effective treatment modality for tinnitus patients with mild to moderate hearing loss. Directive counseling with environmental sound therapy seems to be effective enough to improve patients' symptom of tinnitus. There was no significant additive effect of hearing aids in the treatment of tinnitus following TRT during the study period; nevertheless, patients using hearing aids showed the tendency of better control of their relevant symptoms. A long-term follow-up study using a larger group should be conducted in the future.