Effectiveness of Clinical Trial of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy on Temporal Processing and Perceptual Judgment in Tinnitus

Abstract

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) on certain temporal processing abilities and perceptual judgment of tinnitus. A review of literature revealed that TRT reduces the neural activity at the level of limbic and autonomic nervous system. As, the neural generators of temporal perceptual skills also lie in the cortical and sub-cortical areas of the brain, it was hypothesized in the current study that there could be an association between the two. This longitudinal study was carried out with three groups of participants. The groups included 16 participants with bilateral symmetrical tinnitus (experimental group), 10 individuals with tinnitus (placebo group), and 20 individuals with no tinnitus (control group). All the participants had normal hearing sensitivity. TRT was given to the participants of the experimental group. Temporal processing abilities, tinnitus severity, annoyance and loudness were assessed before therapy and 1, 6 and 12 months following therapy. A significant improvement in the temporal processing test scores after 12 months of therapy was noted. Therapy also resulted in reduction of tinnitus severity and tinnitus related annoyance. There was a positive association between improved temporal processing and reduced tinnitus severity and tinnitus related annoyance for the participants in the experimental group. The improvement of temporal processing skills and perceptual judgment of tinnitus after therapy indicate the effectiveness of tinnitus retraining therapy and confirm the cortical and/or sub cortical involvement in tinnitus perception.