Can an online intervention for tinnitus really work?

Despite tinnitus being a prevalent and distressing complaint interventions are not always available. Barriers include the high cost, the involvement of numerous specialists often resulting in multiple appointments and sparse provision of evidence-based tinnitus interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy. This talk is intended to be thought-provoking - what alternative approaches may improve outcomes and access to care for our patients? During the talk, the rationale for attempting to overcome existing barriers through the development of an online tinnitus intervention is discussed. The importance of developing interventions based on strong evidence is highlighted. This talk aims to provide insights into what an Internet-based intervention entails and how it works. A further aim of this talk is to outline the need for multidimensional approaches when evaluating new interventions. Results of comprehensive evaluations undertaken including a three-phase clinical trial, exploring the secondary effects, participant experiences, and long term outcomes are outlined. To ensure the findings of these ‘single studies’ are considered in the context of other studies, the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of Internet-based tinnitus interventions are presented. The potential, as well as the challenges of providing Internet-based interventions, is discussed. There will also be opportunity for questions and answers at the end of the talk to further improve understanding of such an intervention and to share ideas.