Investigating the Effect of Binaural Beat Stimulation on the Annoyance of Tinnitus in Military Personnel

Abstract

Background and Aim: Prevalence of noise-induced tinnitus is approximately twice as high among military personnel and veterans as in the general population. So they appear to have poorer quality of life. Many forms of sound therapy have been applied to reduce the effects of subjective tinnitus. This study aimed to investigate the effect of binaural beat stimulation on the annoyance of tinnitus in military personnel with the experience of acoustic trauma-induced tinnitus. Methods: This study was conducted on 60 men with mean(SD) age 38.30(6.12) years individuals suffering from chronic tinnitus. They were randomly assigned to either the experimental group who were exposed to an audio file with an embedded binaural beat in  the alpha frequency range or the control group who were supposed to merely listen to their favorite music without any included beat stimulation. Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire (THQ) were used as outcome measures to collect the data after a period of one month. Results: There were statistically significant differences (score decrease) between the two study groups after intervention in terms of THI (p<0.05) and THQ total score (p<0.05) and the subscales involving emotional effects of tinnitus. Conclusion: Binaural beat stimulation in the alpha frequency range has the potential of inducing some positive effects on subjective feelings of chronic tinnitus sufferers. Keywords: Tinnitus; binaural beat stimulation; tinnitus handicap inventory; tinnitus handicap questionnaire