A clinical trial of a patient-customized virtual reality intervention for tinnitus

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) has recently been used as a clinical treatment because it can efficiently simulate situations that are difficult to control in real-world settings. In our study, we assessed the potential of VR in patients with chronic subjective tinnitus. An evaluation of its clinical benefits was performed based on analyses of patient electroencephalograms (EEGs) and by questionnaire responses after 6-8 weeks of patient involvement in our VR-based alleviation program. Clinical trials were performed at a tertiary academic hospital. Nineteen patients (aged 33-64 years) who visited our hospital with chronic subjective tinnitus over 3 months were enrolled in the study. The intervention consisted of trashing the tinnitus avatar in VR. We expected that the patients would have the subjective feeling of controlling tinnitus through our intervention. The VR environment comprised four different sessions in four different settings: a bedroom, a living room, a restaurant, and a city street. We analyzed changes in the source activities of the prefrontal regions related to tinnitus in these patients using standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography. The Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), the total score (from 50.11 to 44.21, P = 0.046) and the grade (from 3.16 to 2.79, P = 0.035) were significantly improved after the VR-based tinnitus treatment program (P < 0.05). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index also showed improved outcomes (P = 0.025). On the other hand, a Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire, Quality of Life Assessment (WHO-QOL), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Profile of Mood States revealed no significant change after the intervention. The baseline EEG data showed that brain activity in the orbitofrontal cortex significantly increased in the alpha and theta frequency bands. Furthermore, patients who showed a THI score improvement after the intervention showed specific increases in brain activity for the theta and high beta bands in the orbitofrontal cortex. Our findings suggest that the virtual reality-based program, as in parts of cognitive behavioral treatment, may help to alleviate tinnitus-related distress in patients with chronic subjective tinnitus.