Klinika i ocena efektywności leczenia szumów usznych z zastosowaniem różnych metod terapeutycznych
Clinic and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Treatment of Tinnitus Using Various Therapeutic Methods

Summary/Abstract: Tinnitus is a phantom auditory perception that occurs in one or both ears in the absence of an acoustic stimulus in the environment. This condition is a significant social and clinical problem due to its high incidence, lack of a fully effective treatment method and frequent occurrence of emotional problems in patients with tinnitus. Despite many years of intensive research on its etiology, it is still unclear what factor is directly responsible for the perception of noise. This, in turn, results in the lack of an appropriate therapeutic method based on causal action. The classic clinical division is subjective and objective tinnitus. However, subjective (or real) tinnitus occurs in most cases, while objective (alleged) one is much less common. The basis for the diagnosis of tinnitus should be a medical interview and appropriate audiological tests (tonal and impedance audiometry) to assess the condition of the hearing organ. In special cases, it is also recommended to perform magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance angiography or conventional angiography. The authors assessed the effectiveness of tinnitus treatment using various therapeutic methods: pharmacotherapy, the use of hearing aids, noise generators, the TRT (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy) method, cognitive-behavioral therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, bimodal stimulation, a prototype device for electromagnetostimulation of the ear, mobile applications. The guidelines for the management of patients with tinnitus in clinical practice, published in October 2014 by the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, include a recommendation against the use of pharmacotherapy in the initial stage of treatment of chronic bothersome tinnitus. The latest methods used in tinnitus therapy include: tVNS vagus nerve stimulation and bimodal stimulation combining auditory and somatosensory stimulation as well as an innovative method of electromagnetostimulation of the ear using a prototype device designed by the authors of this paper.

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