04.10.2016
In the period from October 2016 to July 2017 in the ENT specialist practice of Dr. med. Johannes Ebbers informed all patients with chronically decompensated tinnitus about the “Tinniwell” treatment device and invited to participate in the application observation. All patients underwent an oto-neurological examination using ear microscopy, tone threshold audiometry, videonystagmography, oriented clinical-neurological examination, and magnetic resonance tomography of the brain skull.
Exclusion criteria were the detection of an organic tinnitus cause (“symptomatic tinnitus”) and the non-consent to participate in the study. A total of thirty patients were recruited. A study student broke the study after two weeks, without stating reasons. Thus, 29 students were evaluated. The oldest student was 72, the youngest 17 years old. 14 participants were male, 15 female.
The course of studies
Each participant was questioned at the beginning of the “Tinniwell” treatment on the basis of the tinnitus mini-questionnaire according to Göbel and Hiller and the tinnitus severity score (score) was determined. In seven patients the psychovegetative tension was determined using the heart rate variability method (HRV). The selection of these seven patients was random and depended on the availability of the examination device. Subsequently, the patients were instructed in the handling of the “Tinniwell” device. The participants were encouraged to use the “Tinniwell” treatment device daily for at least 30 minutes in the following four weeks. An additional treatment period was expressly desired. Light activities such as reading, walking, light housework or gardening were permitted during therapeutic use. After four to six weeks the tinnitus score was determined again and possibly. a new HRV measurement was performed. In addition, the participants were asked about the criteria “user-friendliness”, “degree of recommendation”, “music preference” and “therapy mode”.
Results
In contrast to a previous investigation Dr. med. Johannes Ebbers, a more or less distinct improvement in tinnitus perception (measured by the questionnaire score) was observed in all patients. No deterioration occurred in a single participant. One patient lost her tinnitus completely. The average tinnitus score (maximum score: 24 points) fell from the initial 15.5 points to 7.3 points. This corresponds to a decrease of an average moderate tinnitus to a slight tinnitus.
In percentages, tinnitus decreased by an average of 52.9%. The results varied between a decline of 100% (complete disappearance) and 20% improvement.
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