Acceptance and Commitment Therapy versus Tinnitus Retraining Therapy in the treatment of tinnitus: A randomised controlled trial

• Published in: Behaviour research and therapy Vol. 49; no. 11; pp. 737 - 747
• Main Authors: Westin, Vendela Zetterqvist, Schulin, Mikael, Hesser, Hugo, Karlsson, Marianne, Noe, Reza Zare, Olofsson, Ulrike, Stalby, Magnus, Wisung, Gisela, Andersson, Gerhard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2011; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Acceptance; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Acoustic Stimulation - methods; Adult; Aged; Anxiety - complications; Anxiety - therapy; Assessment; Behavior therapy. Cognitive therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical trials; Cognitive therapy; Cognitive Therapy - methods; Comparative studies; Directive Counseling - methods; Ear diseases; Female; Hearing; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Patient Compliance - statistics & numerical data; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Randomised controlled trial; Retraining; Severity of Illness Index; Sleep disorders; Sleep problems; Sleep Wake Disorders - complications; Sleep Wake Disorders - therapy; Tinnitus; Tinnitus - complications; Tinnitus - therapy; Tinnitus Retraining Therapy; Treatments; Waiting Lists; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Tinnitus; Tinnitus Retraining Therapy; Randomised controlled trial; Human; Cognitive therapy; Treatment; Acceptance and commitment therapy; Auditory disorder; ENT disease; Controlled therapeutic trial; Behavior therapy; Comparative study; Stress management; Social workers; Burnout; Randomized controlled trial; Stress
• ISSN: 0005-7967; 1873-622X; 1873-622X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2011.08.001

The study compared the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) on tinnitus impact in a randomised controlled trial. Sixty-four normal hearing subjects with tinnitus were randomised to one of the active treatments or a wait-list control (WLC). The ACT treatment consisted of 10 weekly 60 min sessions. The TRT treatment consisted of one 150 min session, one 30 min follow-up and continued daily use of wearable sound generators for a recommended period of at least 8 h/day for 18 months. Assessments were made at baseline, 10 weeks, 6 months and 18 months. At 10 weeks, results showed a superior effect of ACT in comparison with the WLC regarding tinnitus impact (Cohen’s d = 1.04), problems with sleep and anxiety. The results were mediated by tinnitus acceptance. A comparison between the active treatments, including all assessment points, revealed significant differences in favour of ACT regarding tinnitus impact (Cohen’s d = 0.75) and problems with sleep. At 6 months, reliable improvement on the main outcome measure was found for 54.5% in the ACT condition and 20% in the TRT condition. The results suggest that ACT can reduce tinnitus distress and impact in a group of normal hearing tinnitus patients. ► Compare effects of ACT with TRT and WLC regarding tinnitus distress. ► Large immediate effects of ACT on tinnitus distress. ► Superior effect of ACT compared to TRT (Cohen’s d = 0.75). ► Reliable change for 54.5% (ACT) versus 20% (TRT).