Cited by 75Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, GeneticsDigital Mental Health InterventionsHearing Loss and Rehabilitation

Internet-Based Interventions for Adults With Hearing Loss, Tinnitus, and Vestibular Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Beukes, Eldré W., Manchaiah, Vinaya, Allen, Peter M., Baguley, David M., Andersson, Gerhard·2019·Trends in Hearing

Abstract

Internet-based interventions have been developed to improve access to audiovestibular health care. This review aimed to identify outcomes of Internet interventions for adults with hearing loss, tinnitus, and vestibular disorders. Electronic databases and manual searches were performed to identify studies meeting eligibility for inclusion. Fifteen studies (1,811 participants) met the inclusion criteria, with nine studies targeting tinnitus distress, five considering hearing loss, and one for vestibular difficulties. Only the tinnitus and hearing loss Internet intervention studies were eligible for data synthesis. Internet-based interventions for hearing loss were diverse. Overall, they showed no significant effects, although a statistically significant moderate effect ( d = 0.59) was found after removing the study with the highest risk of bias (as a result of high attrition). Most Internet-based interventions for tinnitus provided cognitive behavioural therapy. They yielded statistically significant mean effect sizes for reducing tinnitus distress compared with both inactive ( d = 0.59) and active controls ( d = 0.32). Significant effects were also present for the secondary outcomes of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and quality of life (combined effect d = 0.28). Only Internet-based interventions for tinnitus evaluated the 1-year postintervention effects indicated that results were maintained long term ( d = 0.45). Scientific study quality was appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach and found to vary from very low to moderate. This review indicates the potential of Internet interventions for tinnitus to provide evidence-based accessible care. There is a need for additional high-quality evidence before conclusive results can be established regarding the effects of audiovestibular Internet interventions.

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  • Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for tinnitus has demonstrated efficacy in nine randomized controlled trials in Europe, with moderate effect sizes for tinnitus distress and insomnia and improvements in anxiety, depression, and quality of life.

    “Its efficacy has been demonstrated in nine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in Europe indicating a moderate effect size for both tinnitus distress and insomnia and improvements for anxiety, depression, and quality of life (Beukes et al., 2019).”

    From Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for tinnitus in Spanish: a global feasibility trial. (2022) · cites this paper as Beukes et al., 2019

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • CBT is currently first-line evidence-based psychotherapy for tinnitus and can significantly reduce tinnitus distress while reducing impact of comorbidities such as anxiety, depression and insomnia.

    “CBT is currently the first-line evidence-based psychotherapy for tinnitus and can significantly reduce tinnitus distress while reducing the impact of tinnitus comorbidities such as anxiety, depression and insomnia.40”

    From SoundMind Trial: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial for online acceptance and commitment therapy and sound therapy for tinnitus (2024) · cites this paper as [40]

    The Results (Synthesis of Results; Additional Analysis) report significantly reduced tinnitus distress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia with internet-based tinnitus interventions; the Discussion says all the tinnitus interventions reviewed used CBT as their theoretical underpinning. The paper does not establish that CBT is the first-line psychotherapy for tinnitus, and its pooled findings concern internet-based interventions rather than CBT in every delivery format. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Intervention completion rates are lower than past trials ranging between 57-95%, but similar to recent trials.

    “Intervention completion rates are lower than past trials ranging between 57–95% (Beukes et al., 2019), but these lower rates are similar to recent trials (Beukes et al., 2021c, 2021d, 2021e).”

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Authors
Beukes, E. W., Manchaiah, V., Allen, P. M., Baguley, D. M., & Andersson, G.
Affiliations
  • Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, USA
  • Manipal Academy of Higher Education (IN)
  • Lamar University (US)
  • Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (GB)
  • Linköping University (SE)
Venue
Trends in Hearing
Published
2019-01
Volume
23
Pages
2331216519851749-2331216519851749
ISSN
2331-2165 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2963653768
Cited by
75
References
86
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 2
FWCI
1.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Trends in Hearing (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Repository@Nottingham (University of Nottingham) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Anglia Ruskin Research Online (Anglia Ruskin University) (acceptedVersion)
  • Repository@Nottingham (University of Nottingham) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Nottingham ePrints (University of Nottingham) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • Lamar University
  • Anglia Ruskin University
  • Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research
  • Leverhulme Trust
  • Department of Health and Social Care
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/S000666/1, ST/T000732/1)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation
Keywords
online intervention, tinnitus, hearing loss, vestibular disorders, cognitive behavioral therapy, tinnitus distress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, quality of life, long-term effects
MeSH terms
Internet-Based Intervention, Adult, Depression, Humans, Quality of Life, Tinnitus, Vestibular Diseases, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Hearing Loss, Young Adult

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