Group or individual tinnitus therapy: What matters to participants?

Abstract

Objective: To explore the ‘active ingredient’ of tinnitus therapy groups. Study design: The design was an inductive qualitative study informed by grounded theory. Eight participants, four from a tinnitus group and four from individual therapy with similar content, were invited to discuss their experiences of tinnitus therapy. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using a constant comparative approach. Results: The findings revealed that group experiences facilitate information exchange and social comparison, which facilitates coping. Conclusions: The human dynamics of groups may have an additional therapeutic benefit.

Key words::

• tinnitus
• coping
• social comparison

Declaration of interest: The author report no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Appendix 1.

Therapy programme

• General information re tinnitus mechanisms

• Role of anxiety in tinnitus obtrusiveness

• Relaxation

• Sound enrichment

• Stress management

• Impact on relationships

• Tinnitus therapy techniques in the news/complementary therapies

• Hyperacusis

• Management of sleep disturbance

• CBT techniques

• Mindfulness

• Maintenance and long-term goals