Introduction: 

Treatment for tinnitus focusses on supportive therapies. Long waiting times on the NHS encourage telemedicine options as an alternative.

To review the literature on telemedicine in the management of tinnitus and analyse their impact on the burden of tinnitus, long-term, anxiety, depression, insomnia and quality of life.

Methods: 

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science were searched. English randomised controlled trials with adult participants suffering from tinnitus were included. A random effects model looking at standardised mean differences between intervention and control groups was utilised.

Results: 

Eleven randomised controlled trials were included. Nine studies looked at internet-based CBT. A Z value of 9.87, P < 0.00001 (I2 = 21%) revealed telemedicine approaches may be better at reducing

tinnitus burden compared to passive controls. When looking at insomnia a Z value of 7.79, P < 0.00001 (I2 = 0%) was achieved suggesting telemedicine options may be effective in reducing insomnia burden. Quality of Life showed no real improvement.

Conclusions: 

Telemedicine options have multiple benefits but more research will be needed to conclusively say they are better than alternatives.

Amir Habeeb is a core surgical trainee that is aspiring to be an ENT surgeon. He graduated from University College London Medical School in 2019 and completed a masters in surgical sciences with a dissertation focusing tinnitus management options. Amir has a wide range of research experience publishing in multiple journals and presenting at several international and national conferences. Amir enjoys playing basketball and walking in his spare time.