Study Examines Computer-Based Cognitive Training For the Treatment of Tinnitus

Computer-based cognitive training programs are associated with self-reported changes in attention, memory, and perception of tinnitus, according to the results of a recent study.

Tinnitus is associated with poorer working memory, slower processing speeds, slower reaction times, and deficiencies in selective attention.
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Researchers performed an open-label, intention-to-treat, randomized clinical trial with 60 patients—40 of which had bothersome tinnitus for more than 6 months and 20 were healthy controls. Participants were randomized to either Brain Fitness Program-Tinnitus (BFP-T), a cognitive training program designed to exploit the neuroplasticity for preservation and expansion of cognitive health, or to a non-BFP-T control group. Those in the BFP-T group completed a 1-hour session online for 5 days over 8 weeks.

Participants with tinnitus completed the tinnitus Handicap Inventory score, neuroimaging, and cognitive tests at the beginning of the trial and at 8 weeks. Health control participants underwent neuroimaging and cognitive assessments.

The researchers’ findings showed a reduction in the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory score of participants who completed the BFP-T, but there was not a significant difference between the participants who completed the BFP-T and those who did not. Likewise, cognitive test scores and other behavioral measurements in participants with tinnitus were not different from baseline assessments.

After 8 weeks, neuroimaging showed significant improvement in functional connectivity in the cognitive control regions of the brain in participants who completed the BFP-T compared to baseline. Ten out of 20 participants in the BFP-T group self-reported improvement that they attributed to treatment, and 6 reported much improvement in tinnitus, memory, attention, and concentration.

No differences were visible in neuroimaging of healthy control participants, or in imaging of patients with untreated tinnitus.

Overall, the study demonstrated that computer-based cognitive training may improve memory, attention, concentration, and tinnitus perception, but could not find consistent changes in cognitive testing associated with neuroimaging findings.

“Nevertheless, we believe that continued research into the role of cognitive training rehabilitation programs is supported by the findings of this study, and the role of neuroplasticity seems to hold a prominent place in the future treatments for tinnitus,” the researcher concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Kallogjeri D, Piccirillo JF, Spiitznagel E, et al. Cognitive training for adults with bothersome tinnitus: a randomized clinical trial [ published online January 19, 2017]. JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2016.3779.