Objectives: Sound therapy is a common treatment for tinnitus. This study aims to explore the efficacy of non-customized and customized sound therapy for subjective tinnitus. Treatment progress was assessed by comparing changes in monthly scales. The main scales used are the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Loudness Visual Analogue Scale.
Clinicians managing tinnitus patients should monitor whether customized sound therapy offers a meaningful advantage over non-customized approaches, though the open (non-blinded) design limits definitive conclusions — await stronger controlled evidence before changing protocols.
Clarifying whether personalized sound therapy outperforms standardized options could directly optimize tinnitus management protocols used in audiology clinics worldwide.
- 01Open comparative study design; not blinded, which may introduce performance bias.
- 02Compared customized (patient-specific) versus non-customized sound therapy for subjective tinnitus.
- 03Treatment progress was tracked longitudinally, allowing assessment of change over time.
- 04Results could have direct implications for how sound therapy is prescribed in clinic.
- 05Evidence level is limited by the open (non-blinded), non-randomized design.
Customized sound therapy differs in effectiveness from non-customized sound therapy for subjective tinnitus.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42355598
- DOI
- 10.3390/jcm15124431.
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical Medicine
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Adults with subjective tinnitus
- Intervention
- Customized sound therapy (tailored to individual tinnitus characteristics)
- Comparator
- Non-customized (standard) sound therapy
Primary outcomes
Tinnitus severity or perception change over treatment period