난청을 동반한 이명 환자에서 이명재훈련치료의 효과: 보청기의 효과 관찰을 위한 단기 비교 연구

Abstract

Background and Objectives Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is one of the most effectivetreatment methods for tinnitus. This study aimed to evaluate the treatment response to TRT intinnitus patients with hearing loss and to analyze an additive treatment effect of an hearing aid. Subjects and Method In this retrospective observational case-control study, we reviewedthe medical records of the 80 patients who were diagnosed with sensorineural tinnitus withmild to moderate hearing loss and managed by TRT. The changes of tinnitus after TRT withor without hearing aids were measured by the questionnaire of visual analog scale (VAS) andthe Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after the treatment. Subjectswere divided into two groups according to patients’ hearing aided condition: non-hearing aid-ed TRT group (NHAG, n=40) and hearing aided TRT group (HAG, n=40). Treatment re-sponses to TRT from both groups were also compared. Results All VAS scores of loudness, awareness, annoyance and effect on life of tinnitus,and THI scores were significantly decreased in both groups at 1-year follow-up period( p<0.001). None of the delta scores of VAS and THI showed significant differences betweentwo groups at 1-year follow-up period. Conclusion TRT turned out to be an effective treatment modality for tinnitus patients withmild to moderate hearing loss. Directive counseling with environmental sound therapy seemsto be effective enough to improve patients’ symptom of tinnitus. There was no significant addi-tive effect of hearing aids in the treatment of tinnitus following TRT during the study period;nevertheless, patients using hearing aids showed the tendency of better control of their relevantsymptoms. A long-term follow-up study using a larger group should be conducted in the future.