title: Acceptance and commitment therapy versus tinnitus retraining therapy in the treatment of tinnitus: a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: The study compared the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) on tinnitus impact in a randomised controlled trial. Sixty-four normal hearing subjects with tinnitus were randomised to one of the active treatments or a wait-list control (WLC). The ACT treatment consisted of 10 weekly 60 min sessions. The TRT treatment consisted of one 150 min session, one 30 min follow-up and continued daily use of wearable sound generators for a recommended period of at least 8h/day for 18 months. Assessments were made at baseline, 10 weeks, 6 months and 18 months. At 10 weeks, results showed a superior effect of ACT in comparison with the WLC regarding tinnitus impact (Cohen's d=1.04), problems with sleep and anxiety. The results were mediated by tinnitus acceptance. A comparison between the active treatments, including all assessment points, revealed significant differences in favour of ACT regarding tinnitus impact (Cohen's d=0.75) and problems with sleep. At 6 months, reliable improvement on the main outcome measure was found for 54.5% in the ACT condition and 20% in the TRT condition. The results suggest that ACT can reduce tinnitus distress and impact in a group of normal hearing tinnitus patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. vendela.zetterqvist@liu.se
authors.forename: Vendela Zetterqvist
authors.initials: VZ
authors.lastname: Westin
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schulin
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hesser
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Reza Zare
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Noe
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Olofsson
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stalby
authors.forename: Gisela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wisung
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andersson
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D037001:Directive Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D014850:Waiting Lists