Abstract
Insomnia is a significant difficulty and is reported by large proportion of people with tinnitus. Although cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi) might be an effective treatment, no controlled studies had been conducted to date. This randomised controlled trial evaluated the benefits of CBTi on a sample of 102 people with tinnitus-related insomnia. Participants were randomised to 1) CBTi, 2) Audiology-Based Care (ABC) or 3) Sleep Support Group (SSG). Primary outcomes included insomnia, sleep efficiency and total sleep time. Secondary outcomes measured sleep onset latency, sleep quality, tinnitus distress, psychological distress, functioning and quality of life. CBTi was superior at reducing insomnia and increasing sleep efficiency compared to ABC post-intervention and at 6-month follow-up. ABC was superior at reducing insomnia and increasing sleep efficiency compared to SSG. Both CBTi and ABC reported increased total sleep time compared to SSG at 6-month follow. More than 80% of participants in the CBTi group reported clinically meaningful improvements compared to 47% in ABC and 20% for those receiving social support. CBTi was more effective in reducing tinnitus distress and improving sleep quality, functioning and some aspects of mental health. CBTi and ABC offer effective treatments for tinnitus-related sleep disorder but CBTi offers a sizeable benefit.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 91-109 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Cognitive Behaviour Therapy |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 28 Jun 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by a grant from the British Tinnitus Association and was sponsored by University College London Hospitals. The trial was conducted as a collaboration between the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, London, UK, and the University of Bath, UK. It was funded by a grant awarded by the British Tinnitus Association. We thank Roland Schaette for conducting randomisation and to all of the participants who took part in the study.
