OTO: Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Therapy on Subjective Bother and Neural Connectivity in Chronic Tinnitus

This podcast highlights original research published in the May 2015 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, the official journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Foundation. Editor in chief John Krouse is joined by lead author Lauren Roland and associate editor Meredith Adams in discussing mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy for tinnitus.   Tinnitus is a common problem that affects millions of patients on a chronic basis.  In general there have been few treatment options for patients with tinnitus, and symptoms can be frustrating and debilitating for many individuals.  In this paper, the authors utilize a therapeutic method that includes a cognitive-behavioral approach with planned meditation to reduce stress among patients.  They were able to not only facilitate reduction in bother from tinnitus among a single group of selected patients, but also demonstrated changes in neural connectivity on functional MRI that suggested some adaptation to tinnitus with treatment.  The authors discuss the implications of their interesting findings for patients bothered by tinnitus, and examine ideas for future research that would expand on the encouraging results noted in this pilot study. Click here to read the full article.