{"title":"Global 10 year ecological momentary assessment and mobile sensing study on tinnitus and environmental sounds","authors":"Robin Kraft, Berthold Langguth, Jorge Simoes, Manfred Reichert, Winfried Schlee, Rüdiger Pryss","doi":"10.1038/s41746-025-01551-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>In most tinnitus patients, tinnitus can be masked by external sounds. However, evidence for the efficacy of sound-based treatments is scarce. To elucidate the effect of sounds on tinnitus under real-world conditions, we collected data through the TrackYourTinnitus mobile platform over a ten-year period using Ecological Momentary Assessment and Mobile Crowdsensing. Using this dataset, we analyzed 67,442 samples from 572 users. Depending on the effect of environmental sounds on tinnitus, we identified three groups (T-, T+, T0) using Growth Mixture Modeling (GMM). Moreover, we compared these groups with respect to demographic, clinical, and user characteristics. We found that external sound reduces tinnitus (T-) in about 20% of users, increases tinnitus (T+) in about 5%, and leaves tinnitus unaffected (T0) in about 75%. The three groups differed significantly with respect to age and hearing problems, suggesting that the effect of sound on tinnitus is a relevant criterion for clinical subtyping.</p>","PeriodicalId":19349,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Digital Medicine","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":12.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"NPJ Digital Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01551-z","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In most tinnitus patients, tinnitus can be masked by external sounds. However, evidence for the efficacy of sound-based treatments is scarce. To elucidate the effect of sounds on tinnitus under real-world conditions, we collected data through the TrackYourTinnitus mobile platform over a ten-year period using Ecological Momentary Assessment and Mobile Crowdsensing. Using this dataset, we analyzed 67,442 samples from 572 users. Depending on the effect of environmental sounds on tinnitus, we identified three groups (T-, T+, T0) using Growth Mixture Modeling (GMM). Moreover, we compared these groups with respect to demographic, clinical, and user characteristics. We found that external sound reduces tinnitus (T-) in about 20% of users, increases tinnitus (T+) in about 5%, and leaves tinnitus unaffected (T0) in about 75%. The three groups differed significantly with respect to age and hearing problems, suggesting that the effect of sound on tinnitus is a relevant criterion for clinical subtyping.
期刊介绍:
npj Digital Medicine is an online open-access journal that focuses on publishing peer-reviewed research in the field of digital medicine. The journal covers various aspects of digital medicine, including the application and implementation of digital and mobile technologies in clinical settings, virtual healthcare, and the use of artificial intelligence and informatics.
The primary goal of the journal is to support innovation and the advancement of healthcare through the integration of new digital and mobile technologies. When determining if a manuscript is suitable for publication, the journal considers four important criteria: novelty, clinical relevance, scientific rigor, and digital innovation.