A Scoping Review of the Role of Attention in Tinnitus Management

Abstract

There is strong evidence that attention plays an important role in tinnitus perception, but less is known about its role in treating tinnitus. This review scoped the literature for evidence of the role attention plays in tinnitus therapy and catalogued the methods employed, clinical outcomes, and the degree to which interventions for tinnitus were supported. The research question was “what role does attention play in the management or treatment of tinnitus.” To identify relevant studies, database searches of Scopus (keywords) PsychArticle (title and abstract), CINAHL complete (title and abstract), and PubMed (title and abstract) were performed in March/April 2024 using the following search terms: [tinnitus] and [attention] and [treatment] or [therapy] or [management]. After the removal of duplicates, 494 articles were identified. After exclusions, and additions from references, 38 articles were included in the review. Treatments were classified into five types: electrical/magnetic stimulation, psychological, sound therapy, music therapy, and perceptual training. Sound therapy and perceptual training were identified as having the most evidence for their benefit via an attention mechanism. A model of sound and perceptual training in alleviating tinnitus through an attention pathway is presented.

Keywords

tinnitus - attention - therapy - treatment - management

Authors' Contributions

G.D.S. undertook all literature searching, initial thematic allocation and draft writing, and editing. P.J.S. and A.B. contributed equally, reviewing thematic allocation and editing the manuscript.

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
06. März 2025

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