The use of patient-report measures and intervention strategies for children and adolescents with chronic tinnitus: a scoping review

Abstract

Background

Chronic tinnitus during childhood/adolescence can be associated with impaired quality of life. Guidelines for managing paediatric tinnitus recommend assessment and interventions are often based upon the experiences and opinions of guideline committee members.

Objective

To examine patient response tools used for the assessment and management of childhood tinnitus and how interventions had been evaluated.

Design

A structured scoping review (i) identifying and critically appraising patient response measures (PRMs) assessing tinnitus in children/adolescents, and (ii) critically appraising evidence supporting reported interventions. Original papers written in English, involving paediatric participants ≤19 years, reporting (i) application of established PRMs to assess the experience of chronic tinnitus or (ii) application and evaluation of tinnitus interventions were included.

Study sample

Papers written in English, identifying, or assessing the experience of chronic tinnitus (>3 months) as a primary complaint during childhood/adolescence in participants ≤19 years of age using a PRM and studies evaluating the application of non-pharmaceutical interventions for tinnitus in children/adolescents.

Results

Six studies involving the assessment of tinnitus during childhood/adolescence using a PRM were identified and evaluated. Three established (previously named, described, and published) PRMs were applied of which none were developed specifically for children/adolescents. Three behavioural tinnitus interventions and three combination intervention strategies (coupling of psychological intervention with sound enrichment) had been applied to and evaluated within paediatric populations.

Conclusions

Although clinicians are seeing children/adolescents with tinnitus, they are evaluating and managing children’s distress without appropriate PRMs, and little evidence exists to support clinical interventions.

Keywords:

• Tinnitus
• children
• assessment
• intervention
• scoping review

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the significant contributions to this work and to the field of tinnitus research of the late Professor David Baguley, who passed away in the final review stages of this manuscript. The authors wish to thank The University of Western Australia, the Ear Science Institute of Australia for their support.

Disclosure statement

The authors of this review declare no conflict of interest or competing financial interest.

Additional information

Funding

ST-Q is funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship through The University of Western Australia. CGBJ is funded by an NHMRC Research Fellowship (#1142897). RJB is funded by the Raine Medical Research Foundation. David Baguley was supported by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), however his views herein were his own and do not reflect those of NIHR nor the UK Department of Health and Social Care.