The Long‐term Effectiveness of Tinnitus Multivariate Integrated Sound Therapy (T‐MIST) in 148 tinnitus patients with normal hearing thresholds: Our initial experience

Abstract

1. This preliminary study provides a combined sound therapeutic strategy (called T-MIST) for the management of tinnitus patients with normal hearing thresholds. It takes into account individual tinnitus characteristics and personal choices of sounds to provide an efficient intervention. 2. High-resolution pure tone audiometry was used to measure precise tinnitus pitch and loudness. A Residual Inhibition Test (RIT) was performed using narrow band noise matched to tinnitus frequency at 10 dB above perceived tinnitus loudness for 60 seconds. 3. Effectiveness of long-term sound therapy was evaluated using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) at the pre-sound therapy assessment as well as at follow-up visits held at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12- months. 4. T-MIST had a positive long-term effect on tinnitus patients with normal hearing thresholds. The RIT appears to be a useful indicator for short-term effectiveness of sound therapy intervention. However, the audiometric tinnitus loudness measures may be insufficient in describing an individual's reaction to sound therapy intervention. 5. These results should be interpreted with caution due to the preliminary nature of this study. Further studies should be conducted to explore more convincing benefits derived from this intervention for chronic tinnitus and the associated influencing factors using systematic approaches, such as randomized controlled trials, and comparisons of tinnitus patients with varying degrees of hearing loss.