Trial of Management of Chronic Tinnitus by Sound Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

June 17, 2026 updated by: Aya Ahmed Elsayed, Sohag University

Efficacy of Sound Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Their Combination in Management of Chronic Tinnitus

clinical trial: The main aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Sound Therapy, both individually and in combination, in the management of patients with chronic subjective tinnitus and to evaluate their impact on decreasing tinnitus severity, psychological wellbeing and quality of life.

Patients will be randomly divided into three groups:

  • Group A: patients will receive Sound Therapy.
  • Group B: patients will receive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
  • Group C: patients will receive Combined CBT + Sound Therapy.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Because of the multifactorial nature of tinnitus, its effective management requires a multidisciplinary approach. While there is no single pullet mechanism of cure, current treatment strategies primary focus on reducing tinnitus related perception and minimizing its associated distress through auditory and psychological interventions.

Among these approaches, is the Sound Therapy which aims to decrease the contrast between tinnitus and related neural activity by introducing external sounds, which facilitates habituation and reducing tinnitus perception .

In contrast, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) targets the patient's cognitive and emotional reaction to tinnitus by modifying maladaptive thoughts and behaviors, there by improving coping strategies and reducing tinnitus-related distress (Andersson, 2011). Recent evidence suggests that combining both modalities may provide superior outcomes compared to either approach alone, highlighting the potential value for integrated treatment strategies in tinnitus management (Hall et

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

60

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Egypt
      • Sohag, Egypt
        • Sohag faculty of medicine
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • o Age: 18-65 years.

    • Hearing level: Patients with normal hearing or mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss (to ensure homogeneity of the sample) (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2020)
    • Complaint: patients with chronic subjective tinnitus (> 3 months).
    • Psychological state: Patients with stable general and psychological condition.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • o Age: <18, >65 years

    • Hearing level: Patients with severe hearing loss not suitable for sound therapy
    • Complaint: Objective tinnitus (vascular or muscular origin)
    • Psychological state: Patients with active psychiatric disorders requiring immediate intervention.
    • Active middle or external ear disease

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Group A: patients will receive Sound Therapy
Behavioral: Group A: sound therapy

Group A: Sound Therapy

  • Patients will receive individualized sound therapy using broadband noise or tinnitus maskers.
  • Daily use recommended for 2-4 hours/day.
  • Duration: 6 weeks.
  • Patient will be instructed on habituation-based listening techniques
Active Comparator: Group B: patients will receive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
Behavioral: Group B: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Group B: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Structured CBT program consisting of 6 sessions over 6 weeks.

Each session categorization:

  • Psychoeducation about tinnitus
  • Cognitive restructuring of negative thoughts
  • Relaxation techniques (breathing exercises, muscle relaxation)
  • Attention diversion strategies
  • Sleep hygiene education
Active Comparator: Group C: patients will receive Combined CBT + Sound Therapy.
Behavioral: Group A: sound therapy

Group A: Sound Therapy

  • Patients will receive individualized sound therapy using broadband noise or tinnitus maskers.
  • Daily use recommended for 2-4 hours/day.
  • Duration: 6 weeks.
  • Patient will be instructed on habituation-based listening techniques
Behavioral: Group B: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Group B: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Structured CBT program consisting of 6 sessions over 6 weeks.

Each session categorization:

  • Psychoeducation about tinnitus
  • Cognitive restructuring of negative thoughts
  • Relaxation techniques (breathing exercises, muscle relaxation)
  • Attention diversion strategies
  • Sleep hygiene education
Behavioral: Group C: Combined CBT + Sound Therapy

Group C: Combined Therapy

• Patients will receive both sound therapy and CBT simultaneously following the same protocol as above.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Primary outcome: Changes in tinnitus severity
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after completion of treatment , and 3 months after completion of treatment
Assessment of tinnitus severity using the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) . Higher scores indicate greater tinnitus severity
Baseline, immediately after completion of treatment , and 3 months after completion of treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
chang in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after completion of treatment , and 3 months after completion of treatment
Assessment of tinnitus severity using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) . score range from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating greater tinnitus severity
Baseline, immediately after completion of treatment , and 3 months after completion of treatment
change in Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) score
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately after completion of treatment , and 3 months after completion of treatment
Assessment of tinnitus-related handicap and quality of life using Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI)
Baseline, immediately after completion of treatment , and 3 months after completion of treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sohag University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

June 10, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 10, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 10, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 17, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 17, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Soh-Med-26-5-8MS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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