| Name of treatment |
Hypnotherapy (hypnosis) |
|
Type of treatment |
Alternative therapy using hypnosis, positive suggestions and guided imagery |
|
Claims for treatment |
Deals with the psychological aspects of tinnitus, such as anger, stress, anxiety.[1] |
|
How treatment is delivered |
The therapist will guide the patient into a deeply relaxed state either in person or via recording |
|
Potential negative consequences |
Cost Can be offered by people with little training Hazardous for people with psychosis or certain types of personality disorder[2] |
Evidence offered: |
|
|
Papers available |
Very few recent papers mention hypnotherapy as a tinnitus treatment at all. Previous papers have been small scale trials of poor quality.[3] |
|
Conclusions drawn |
There is no evidence available to show whether hypnotherapy is effective in people with tinnitus.[3] A systematic review of hypnotherapy in patients with stress concluded that the effectiveness of this intervention is still unclear.[4] There is some evidence that hypnotherapy reduces anxiety, but it is more effective when combined with other psychological interventions.[5] A systematic review of hypnotherapy for insomnia concluded that the effectiveness of this intervention is still unclear.[6] There is very little evidence on whether hypnotherapy causes adverse effects, but one systematic review showed no evidence that it does.[7] |
|
Quality of evidence[8] |
A |
|
Does the BTA recommend this treatment? |
Current tinnitus management guidelines suggest the use of relaxation strategies to help manage tinnitus. Hypnotherapy may be considered as a way to improve relaxation. |
|
BTA opinion on this treatment: |
There is no evidence to support the use of hypnotherapy over other relaxation strategies, but some people may find it useful. |
|
Would the BTA support further studies into this treatment? |
Yes |
|
Verdict: Safety – is this treatment harmful? |
|
|
Verdict: Efficacy – does this treatment work? |
No evidence that it is effective |
|
Date completed |
February 2020 |
|
Date for revision |
February 2023 |
We welcome feedback on all our information. Please send any corrections or updates for consideration to Nic Wray, Communications Manager on [email protected]
Download this information:
[1] Hypnotherapy Directory. Tinnitus [online]. Available from https://www.hypnotherapy-directory.org.uk/articles/tinnitus.html [accessed 12 February 2020]
[2] NHS (2018) Hypnotherapy (online) Available from www.nhs.uk/conditions/hypnotherapy [accessed 12 February 2020]
[3] Savage J, Waddell A. [2014] Tinnitus. BMJ Clinical Evidence. 2014:506. Available from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4202663/#BMJ_0506_I12 [accessed 12 February 2020]
[4] Fisch S, Brinkhaus B, Teut M. (2019). Hypnosis in Patients with Perceived Stress – A Systematic Review. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 17 (1), 323. DOI: 10.1186/s12906-017-1806-0
[5] Valentine KE, Milling LS, Clark LJ, Moriarty CL. (2019). The Efficacy of Hypnosis as a Treatment for Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 67(3). DOI: 10.1080/00207144.2019.1613863
[6] Lam T-H, Chung K-F, Yeung W-F, Yu BY-M, Yung K-P, Ng TH-Y (2015). Hypnotherapy for Insomnia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 23 (5), 719-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.ctim.2015.07.011
[7] Häuser W, Hagl M, Schmierer A, Hansen E (2016). The Efficacy, Safety and Applications of Medical Hypnosis. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. 113 (170 289-96. DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2016.0289
[8] A = Systematic review/meta analysis. B = Randomised control studies. C = Cohort studies. D = Case control studies. E = case studies/reports. +/- to be used to indicate quality within bands
Updated 12 February 2020
Photo by Mitchell Griest on Unsplash
