July 2018 update
There will be opportunities to take part in mindfulness sessions at the forthcoming Talking Tinnitus Expo.
September 2017 Update
This project, led by Dr Laurence McKenna and Dr Liz Marks, was carried out between 2013 and 2015 and was a study to compare Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Relaxation Therapy (the standard treatment) for people with chronic tinnitus. The aim was to determine if
MBCT was a better treatment than the current recommended practice.
In total 75 patients took part in the trial receiving either MBCT or Relaxation Therapy. The study has shown both treatments led to a reduction in tinnitus severity, psychological distress, tinnitus loudness, anxiety and depression for patients. However the MBCT treatment led to significantly greater reductions in tinnitus severity than the relaxation treatment, and this significantly greater improvement lasted for longer.
A scientific paper is now in press with Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (https://www.karger.com/Journal/Details/223864) a journal that focuses on research at the interface of medical and psychological science. This will contribute to dissemination throughout the medical community and will be one of the first steps to MBCT becoming more widely adopted as a treatment for tinnitus.
New research
Dr McKenna and Dr Marks are now running a new research project, where they are looking at the best ways of helping people who have sleeping problems (insomnia) related to their tinnitus. This research project is still open to new participants. You can find out more here: https://www.tinnitus.org.uk/Blogs/news/tinnitus-and-insomnia-study
We recently launched an appeal to help fund this work, we have been delighted with the response which has so far raised over £16,300!
If you, or someone close to you, have tinnitus, you will know how difficult it can be to manage. If we can find more ways to help people control their symptoms, more people will be able to break free from tinnitus, and live their lives again.
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