Research Article
Abstract
Tinnitus is a common and distressing symptom affecting at least 10% of the population. It is poorly understood. There are many proposed therapies but a significant lack of well-controlled trials. This study is a secondary analysis from our recent study to determine the effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy as a treatment for tinnitus. It was designed as a single-site prospective interventional clinical trial and took place at a teaching hospital in the United Kingdom. Participants received a maximum of 10 sessions of EMDR. The EMDR used was a bespoke protocol: EMDR-for-tinnitus protocol (tEMDR). Outcome measures included evidence-based tinnitus and mood questionnaires recorded at baseline, discharge, and at 6 months post-discharge. The main outcome measure was the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, and scores demonstrated a statistically significant improvement. Secondary analyses conducted indicate statistically significant improvement for tinnitus patients with and without probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnoses. There was no significant decrease in depression and anxiety measures, however these were at the minimal range at the start. The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale behind the use of EMDR in tinnitus, the process of administrating a bespoke EMDR protocol, and the differences between tinnitus sufferers with differing experiences of trauma. To date our study is one of only two published studies investigating the use of EMDR for tinnitus; we therefore introduce an evolving and exciting application for EMDR therapy.
Tables
Pathway | |||
---|---|---|---|
Outcome | 1 N = Median (IQ) | 2 (2 and 3) N = Median (IQ) | |
THI | |||
T0 | N = 7 60 (55–69) | N = 7 65 (43–84) | |
T1 | N = 7 37 (32–54) | N = 7 38 (3449) | |
T6 | N = 7 35 (30–46) | N = 7 46 (33–58) | |
BDI | |||
T0 | N = 7 14 (4–17) | N = 7 12 (8–19) | |
T1 | N = 7 8 (0–9) | N = 7 5 (1–13) | |
T6 | N = 7 4 (0–8) | N = 7 9 (2–14) | |
BAI | |||
T0 | N = 4 7 (1.5–18) | N = 3 6 (4–10) | |
T1 | N = 3 7 (3–11) | N = 3 2 (1–8) | |
T6 | N = 4 5.5 (2–7.5) | N = 2 6.5 (3–10) |
Note. BAI = Beck Anxiety Inventory; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; THI = Tinnitus Handicap Inventory.
Mean (SD) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Age | 57 (12.4) | |||
Gender | ||||
Female | 7 (50%) | |||
Male | 7 (50%) | |||
Outcome | Median (IQ) | Decrease from T0 | P-valuea | Percentage greater than 20-point decrease |
THI | ||||
T0 | 62.5 (54 to 72) | |||
T1 | 37.5 (34 to 49) | 20 (16 to 35) | 0.0005 | 8 (57.1%) 17% to 71% |
T6 | 38.5 (32 to 46) | 24 (11 to 30) | 0.0009 | 9 (64.3%) 11% to 61% |
BDI | ||||
T0 | 13.5 (7.5 to 18.5) | |||
T1 | 6.5 (1.0 to 11.0) | 7.0 (0 to 11) | 0.0098 | |
T6 | 6.0 (1.0 to 13.0) | 6.5 (0 to 10) | 0.0054 | |
BAI | ||||
T0 | 6 (2 to 12) | |||
T1 | 5 (2 to 8) | 3.5 (2 to 5) | 0.0625 | |
T6 | 5.5 (3.0 to 8.0) | 1.5 (0 to 4) | 0.3125 |
Note. BAI = Beck Anxiety Inventory; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; THI = Tinnitus Handicap Inventory.
a Wilcoxon signed rank test.
Period | Abstract | Full | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 2024 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 29 |
Mar 2024 | 24 | 14 | 2 | 40 |
Feb 2024 | 13 | 35 | 3 | 51 |
Jan 2024 | 38 | 15 | 4 | 57 |
Dec 2023 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 28 |
Nov 2023 | 19 | 11 | 7 | 37 |
Oct 2023 | 21 | 15 | 4 | 40 |
Sep 2023 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 40 |
Aug 2023 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 24 |
Jul 2023 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 44 |
Jun 2023 | 16 | 19 | 1 | 36 |
May 2023 | 31 | 8 | 5 | 44 |
Apr 2023 | 9 | 16 | 4 | 29 |
Mar 2023 | 15 | 22 | 6 | 43 |
Feb 2023 | 23 | 20 | 11 | 54 |
Jan 2023 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 18 |
Dec 2022 | 43 | 10 | 4 | 57 |
Nov 2022 | 33 | 8 | 5 | 46 |
Oct 2022 | 25 | 14 | 4 | 43 |
Sep 2022 | 30 | 15 | 4 | 49 |
Aug 2022 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 28 |
Jul 2022 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 37 |
Jun 2022 | 33 | 11 | 4 | 48 |
May 2022 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 37 |
Apr 2022 | 16 | 11 | 2 | 29 |
Mar 2022 | 33 | 11 | 2 | 46 |
Feb 2022 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 34 |
Jan 2022 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 26 |
Dec 2021 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 38 |
Nov 2021 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 26 |
Oct 2021 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 30 |
Sep 2021 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 32 |
Aug 2021 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 14 |
Jul 2021 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 22 |
Jun 2021 | 107 | 10 | 3 | 120 |
May 2021 | 51 | 10 | 9 | 70 |
Apr 2021 | 77 | 16 | 16 | 109 |
Mar 2021 | 364 | 18 | 11 | 393 |
Feb 2021 | 1581 | 17 | 15 | 1613 |
Jan 2021 | 1791 | 20 | 9 | 1820 |
Dec 2020 | 1643 | 28 | 31 | 1702 |
Nov 2020 | 981 | 46 | 40 | 1067 |