February 10, 2022, by Adele Horobin

Using apps to help manage your tinnitus

It is #TinnitusWeek this week. We are continuing with our tinnitus research and you can read more about what we are doing at: https://nottinghambrc.nihr.ac.uk/about-nottingham-brc/news/3777-hearing-theme-raising-awareness-of-tinnitus-as-numbers-of-patients-predicted-to-rise.

We thought we would take this opportunity to highlight one way that people might find helpful for managing their tinnitus. Do you have a smartphone or tablet? Do you know that you can access apps that might help you manage your tinnitus? 

Research led by Dr Magdalena Sereda found many apps already exist but that many people didn’t know about them. When people did use apps, they were used mostly as self-help options for their tinnitus, without any involvement of hearing health care professionals or alignment with treatment offered by healthcare services. Some apps used were developed specifically for managing tinnitus. However, the majority of cited apps were developed for other problems (eg, sleep, depression or anxiety, and relaxation). Sound was the main focus of the majority of the apps. Other components included relaxation exercises, elements of cognitive behavioral therapy, information and education, and hypnosis.

Further research should consider the place for apps in tinnitus management (stand-alone self-management intervention vs part of the management by a hearing professional). As the content of the apps varies with respect to sound options, information, and management strategies, it seems that the choice of the best management app should be guided by individual patient’s needs and preferences.

Dr Sereda says “Since we completed our study in 2019, more and more people with tinnitus are inquiring about apps and more hearing healthcare professionals recommend apps as a part of their standard practice. Recent years has seen a development of apps that are aimed specifically at managing tinnitus and combine a number of different approaches within one app.”

For more information about using mobile apps to manage tinnitus, check out Signia’s Tune out of Tinnitus site, which will be uploading videos every day during Tinnitus Week https://wsa.showpad.com/share/Zgm6AHUpTZ5qzp8CAwxTz/. The mobile apps feature was added on the 10^th February and Magda talks about new app developments 5 minutes into the presentation.

Read about Dr Sereda and her team’s research into apps at: https://mhealth.jmir.org/2019/1/e10353/

 

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