August 2017 update
Dr Magdalena Sereda, BTA Head of Research, will be presenting one aspect of her work about tinnitus apps at the BTA conference. Dr Sereda conducted a survey to investigate tinnitus apps on smartphones and tablets. Many people find these helpful especially at night to help with sleep. The survey has been used to generate a list of tinnitus apps used by sufferers to manage tinnitus. This will help users and clinicians make a more informed choice about the best app to manage a patient’s tinnitus better. The study will also provide information for future research into apps and sound enrichment.
April 2017 update
Dr Magdalena Sereda, based at the University of Nottingham, is investigating current clinical practice in the NHS for managing tinnitus. Her findings will lead to recommendations and improvements for people who have both hearing loss and tinnitus.
Part of the Head of Research’s programme aims to design future research trials and to act as seed funding to encourage this. Dr Sereda has applied for several small scale grants to support that work. She has also recently put together an application for funding to NIHR (National Institute for Health Research) Research for Patient Benefit scheme. This is to fund a study that will look if it is possible to conduct a large scale randomised controlled trial (RCT) of effectiveness of hearing aids for people with tinnitus and hearing loss within NHS audiology departments. We are delighted the application has just made it through to stage 2 of the process.
Dr Sereda is in discussions with the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme who fund independent research about the effectiveness, costs and broader impact of healthcare treatments and tests for those who plan, provide or receive care in the NHS. Discussions have been focused on research priorities and identifying appropriate research questions to address interventions for people with mild to moderate hearing loss and tinnitus. This will lead to more relevant clinical trials addressing the needs of tinnitus sufferers in the future.
Dr Sereda is also looking at scoping work with the Cochrane Review ENT Group. Cochrane reviews provide high quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision making.
