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Directed Attention and Habituation: Two Concepts Critical to Tinnitus Management
1VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, VA Portland Health Care System, OR.
American Journal of Audiology
|March 2, 2023
Summary
Directed attention and habituation are key to treating tinnitus. These strategies help individuals manage bothersome tinnitus by learning to ignore the phantom sound, leading to reduced distress.
Area of Science:
- Audiology and Otolaryngology
- Behavioral Psychology
- Clinical Neuroscience
Background:
- Bothersome tinnitus is a common condition often treated with behavioral interventions.
- Understanding directed attention and habituation is crucial for effective tinnitus management.
- Tinnitus is typically a phantom sound without underlying pathology, making habituation a viable goal.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe directed attention and habituation in the context of tinnitus intervention.
- To examine the role of these concepts in major evidence-based behavioral tinnitus treatments.
Main Methods:
- Reviewed four major behavioral tinnitus interventions: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), tinnitus activities treatment (TAT), and progressive tinnitus management (PTM).
- Assessed the integration of directed attention as a strategy and habituation as a goal within each method.
Main Results:
- All four evaluated methods (CBT, TRT, TAT, PTM) incorporate directed attention techniques.
- Habituation is an explicit or implicit objective in all reviewed tinnitus intervention approaches.
Conclusions:
- Directed attention and habituation are fundamental to major behavioral tinnitus interventions.
- Implementing directed attention as a universal strategy and habituation as a universal goal is recommended for tinnitus treatment.
