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Research Article

Tinnitus patients lost to follow-up

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Pages 877-880 | Received 05 Oct 2009, Accepted 27 Jun 2010, Published online: 11 Nov 2010
 

Abstract

Abstract

Tinnitus patients without hearing loss or hyperacusis often start tinnitus retraining therapy but do not return to the tinnitus clinic for follow-up visits. The aim of this study was to evaluate how these ‘missing patients’ feel and whether they still use their sound generators after they discontinue retraining therapy. We interviewed 269 tinnitus patients by phone who never returned to the clinic after receiving initial counseling and a generator for sound enrichment. Twenty-six percent did not have tinnitus anymore, 30.5% still used the sound generator to treat their tinnitus, and 43.5% did not use their sound generator but still suffered from tinnitus. This study suggests that therapists need to contact missing patients periodically to follow their improvement, encourage them, and decide on new therapeutic approaches as necessary.

Sumario

Los pacientes con acúfeno, sin hipoacusia ni hiperacusia, a menudo inician terapia de re-entrenamiento para el acúfeno pero no regresen a la clínica de acúfenos para citas de seguimiento. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar cómo se sienten estos “pacientes perdidos” de la consulta y si aún utilizan sus generadores de sonido luego de que suspenden la terapia de re-entrenamiento. Entrevistamos por teléfono a 269 pacientes que nunca retornaron a la clínica, luego de recibir una sesión de orientación inicial y un generador de enriquecimiento sonoro. Veintiséis por ciento no volvieron a tener acúfeno, 30.5% aún usaban el generador de sonido para tratar su acúfeno, y 43.5% no usaron su generador de sonido y aún sufren del acúfeno. Este estudio sugiere que los terapeutas necesitan contactar periódicamente a sus pacientes perdidos de la consulta, para dar seguimiento a su evolución, estimularlos, y para tomar decisiones sobre nuevos enfoques terapéuticos conforme sea necesario.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all patients for their collaboration

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

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