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Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Chronic Tinnitus: Evaluation of Benefits in a Large Sample of Patients Attending a Tinnitus Clinic.

Ear and hearing
January 1, 2018
Laurence McKenna et al. (3 authors)
Clinical TrialJournal ArticleHuman StudyClinical
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the impact of standardized mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on chronic tinnitus patients in a real-world clinical setting and explore predictors of change.

Results Summary

MBCT led to significant improvements in tinnitus-related distress, psychological distress, tinnitus acceptance, and mindfulness, with reliable improvements in 50% and 41.2% of patients for tinnitus-related and psychological distress, respectively. Changes were linked to increased mindfulness and tinnitus acceptance.

Population

182 adults with chronic and distressing tinnitus.

Effective Dosage

8-week MBCT group intervention (specific session frequency not detailed).

Duration

8 weeks (with 6-week follow-up).

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (6)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
increase
all outcome measures
patients with chronic and distressing tinnitus
-
was associated with significant improvements
#1
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
decrease
tinnitus-related distress
patients
50%
reliable improvements were detected
#2
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
decrease
psychological distress
patients
41.2%
reliable improvements were detected
#3
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
increase
-
patients with chronic, distressing tinnitus
-
was associated with significant and reliable improvements
#4
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
increase
tinnitus acceptance
-
-
Changes were associated with increases
#5
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)
increase
dispositional mindfulness
-
-
Changes were associated with increases
#6
Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Mindfulness-based approaches may benefit patients with chronic tinnitus, but most evidence is from small studies of nonstandardized interventions, and there is little exploration of the processes of change. This study describes the impact of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in a "real world" tinnitus clinic, using standardized MBCT on the largest sample of patients with chronic tinnitus to date while exploring predictors of change. DESIGN: Participants were 182 adults with chronic and distressing tinnitus who completed an 8-week MBCT group. Measures of tinnitus-related distress, psychological distress, tinnitus acceptance, and mindfulness were taken preintervention, postintervention, and at 6-week follow-up. RESULTS: MBCT was associated with significant improvements on all outcome measures. Postintervention, reliable improvements were detected in tinnitus-related distress in 50% and in psychological distress in 41.2% of patients. Changes in mindfulness and tinnitus acceptance explained unique variance in tinnitus-related and psychological distress postintervention. CONCLUSIONS: MBCT was associated with significant and reliable improvements in patients with chronic, distressing tinnitus. Changes were associated with increases in tinnitus acceptance and dispositional mindfulness. This study doubles the combined sample size of all previously published studies. Randomized controlled trials of standardized MBCT protocols are now required to test whether MBCT might offer a new and effective treatment for chronic tinnitus.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AdultAgedAged, 80 and overChronic DiseaseCognitive Behavioral TherapyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMindfulnessSelf ReportSurveys and QuestionnairesTinnitus
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality75/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations21
Citations/Year3.0
Relative Citation Ratio1.75
NIH Percentile70.4%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.75
Weight Score2.05
Normalized Score0.69
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