Tinnitus and hyperacusis therapy in a UK National Health Service audiology department: Patients’ evaluations of the effectiveness of treatments

Figures & data

Table 1. Means and SDs of the pre-treatment scores on the tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), hyperacusis questionnaire (HQ), hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), visual analogue scale (VAS), and insomnia severity index (ISI) questionnaires for patients seen between January 2014 and March 2014 at THTSC.

Variable	N	Mean	SD
THI	169	45	23
VAS (Tinnitus loudness)	163	6	2
VAS (Tinnitus annoyance)	164	6	2
VAS (Effect on life)	164	5	3
HADS (Anxiety)	172	9	5
HADS (Depression)	172	6	4.5
ISI	152	12	7
HQ	164	18	9

Table 2. Comparison of the means and SDs of age, pure-tone average, and scores on the self-report questionnaires obtained in the initial assessment session for the responders and non-responders.

	Responders (n)	Responders mean (SD)	Non-responders (n)	Non-responders mean (SD)	p-value
Age, years	92	62 (15)	108	52 (19)	<0.001
Number of therapy sessions attended	92	8 (5)	108	5 (4)	<0.001
PTA of better ear (dB HL)	87	25 (17)	98	20 (14)	0.02
PTA of worse ear (dB HL)	85	32 (22)	97	29 (18)	0.23
Tinnitus handicap inventory (range 0–100)	86	47 (24)	83	44(23)	0.32
Hyperacusis questionnaire (range 0–42)	82	18 (8)	82	18(9)	0.98
Visual analogue scale of tinnitus loudness (range 0–10)	81	6 (2)	82	6 (2)	0.85
Visual analogue scale of tinnitus annoyance (range 0–10)	82	6 (2)	82	6 (2)	0.94
Visual analogue scale of effect of tinnitus on life (range 0–10)	82	6 (2)	82	5 (3)	0.06
Insomnia severity index (0–28)	78	13 (7)	74	12 (7)	0.46
Hospital anxiety and depression scale: Anxiety domain (0–21)	87	9 (4)	85	9 (5)	0.66
Hospital anxiety and depression scale: Depression domain (0–21)	87	6 (5)	85	6 (4)	0.7

Table 3. Summary of responses to the nine items on the service evaluation survey questionnaire. Mean scores (and SDs) are also given for each item.

Item	Please rank the effect of the treatments you received with regard to the management of your tinnitus or hyperacusis.	Answer	Number (%) of responders
1	Hearing tests (n = 87) (Mean = 4.4, SD = 0.9)	1 (no effect)	2 (2.3%)
		2	1 (1.2%)
		3	7 (8.1%)
		4	24 (27.6%)
		5 (very effective)	53 (60.9%)
2	Completing questionnaires (n = 83) (Mean = 4.1, SD = 1)	1 (no effect)	1 (1.2%)
		2	7 (8.4%)
		3	16 (19.3%)
		4	4 (25.3%)
		5 (very effective)	38 (45. 8%)
3	Education and information about your ears as well as tinnitus/hyperacusis (n = 90) (Mean = 4.5, SD = 0.8)	1 (no effect)	1 (1.1%)
		2	1 (1.1%)
		3	6 (6. 7%)
		4	27 (30%)
		5 (very effective)	55 (61.1%)
4	Counselling (i.e. therapists listening empathically to your concerns and story) (n = 88) (Mean = 4.7, SD = 0.6)	1 (no effect)	0 (0%)
		2	0 (0%)
		3	5 (5.7%)
		4	18 (20. 5%)
		5 (very effective)	65 (73.9%)
5	Cognitive behavioural therapy (i.e. therapist working collaboratively with you to help modifying negative thoughts and feeling about tinnitus/hyperacusis) (n = 75) (Mean = 4.4, SD = 0.7)	1 (no effect)	0 (0%)
		2	0 (0%)
		3	11 (14. 7%)
		4	22 (29.3%)
		5 (very effective)	42 (56%)
6	Bedside sound generator (n = 44) (Mean =4, SD =1.4)	1 (no effect)	5 (11.4%)
		2	2 (4.6%)
		3	4 (9.1%)
		4	10 (22.7%)
		5 (very effective)	23 (52.3%)
7	Wideband noise generator (n = 59) (Mean =3.6, SD = 1.4)	1 (no effect)	7 (11.9%)
		2	4 (6. 8%)
		3	17 (28.8%)
		4	10 (17%)
		5 (very effective)	21 (35.6%)
8	Hearing aids (If you have hearing loss too) (n = 55) (Mean = 3.8, SD = 1.2)	1 (no effect)	4 (7.3%)
		2	4 (7.3%)
		3	12 (21.8%)
		4	16 (29.1%)
		5 (very effective)	19 (34.6%)
9	Overall satisfaction from the tinnitus/hyperacusis clinic (n = 88) (Mean = 4.5, SD = 0.7)	1 (no effect)	0 (0%)
		2	2 (2.3%)
		3	5 (5.7%)
		4	32 (36.4%)
		5 (very effective)	49 (55.7%)

Service evaluation survey questionnaire

Name:Date of birth: Duration of tinnitus: …… (years) Tinnitus: Yes/No Hyperacusis: Yes/NoHearing Loss: Yes/No
Please rank the effect of the treatments you received at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, with regard to the management of your tinnitus or hyperacusis. If you feel that you have not received a treatment, then leave that question blank.
1. Hearing tests
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
2. Completing questionnaires
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
3. Education and Information about your ears as well as tinnitus/hyperacusis
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
4. counselling (i.e. therapists listening empathically to your concerns and story)
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
5. Cognitive behavioural therapy (i.e. therapist working collaboratively with you to help modifying negative thoughts and feeling about tinnitus/hyperacusis)
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
6. Bedside sound generator
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
7. White noise generator
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
8. Hearing aids (if you have hearing loss too)
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)
9. Overall satisfaction from the tinnitus/hyperacusis clinic
1 (no effect)	2	3	4	5 (very effective)