Survey of tinnitus patients’ acceptance of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation as a management option

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate acceptance of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) as a management option for tinnitus.

Design

Participants completed an online version of the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI), after which they recorded their satisfaction ratings with different hypothetical intervention outcomes on a 10-point rating scale using Opinio survey software.

Study sample

Data from 272 tinnitus sufferers from English-speaking regions worldwide were collected, of which the majority had moderate to severe tinnitus as per TFI.

Results

The survey showed that HD-tDCS was considered an acceptable form of tinnitus management, and that the satisfaction rating depended significantly on a number of factors: (1) the strength of the tinnitus reduction following the intervention (p < 0.001); 2) the duration of the intervention (p < 0.001); and (3) the effects of the intervention on either tinnitus loudness or tinnitus-related distress (p < 0.001). Respondents rated their satisfaction with the intervention 10/10 only if it completely eliminated tinnitus loudness, although reductions of 50–80% were also rated highly acceptable. No association was found between tinnitus severity and acceptability ratings.

Conclusions

These findings are important for future HD-tDCS trials for tinnitus, as they demonstrate the need to optimise stimulation protocols to increase effect sizes and decrease time spent on the treatment.

Keywords:

• Tinnitus
• non-invasive brain stimulation
• tDCS
• HD-tDCS
• survey

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Amir-Homayoun Javadi for his guidance and advice on editing the manuscript for publication.

Authorship statement

The list of authors accurately illustrates who contributed to the work. Tori Kok was responsible for conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, and drafting the manuscript. Rosemary Varley and Giriraj Shekhawat were responsible for conception and design, and critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content. The final version of this manuscript was approved by all three authors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The present research was financially supported by National Institute for Health Research, Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR BRC); The Stroke Association; Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID/Action on Hearing Loss); Rosetree trust, UK.