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Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice

RATIONALE, AIM AND OBJECTIVE: In 2009, the UK Department of Health formalized recommended National Health Service practices for the management of tinnitus from primary care onwards. It is timely therefore to evaluate the perceived practicality, utility and impact of those guidelines in the context o...

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Autores principales: Hoare, Derek J, Gander, Phillip E, Collins, Luke, Smith, Sandra, Hall, Deborah A
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3489049/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21087449
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01566.x
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author Hoare, Derek J
Gander, Phillip E
Collins, Luke
Smith, Sandra
Hall, Deborah A
author_facet Hoare, Derek J
Gander, Phillip E
Collins, Luke
Smith, Sandra
Hall, Deborah A
author_sort Hoare, Derek J
collection PubMed
description RATIONALE, AIM AND OBJECTIVE: In 2009, the UK Department of Health formalized recommended National Health Service practices for the management of tinnitus from primary care onwards. It is timely therefore to evaluate the perceived practicality, utility and impact of those guidelines in the context of current practice. METHODS: We surveyed current practice by posting a 36-item questionnaire to all audiology and hearing therapy staff that we were able to identify as being involved in tinnitus patient care in England. RESULTS: In total, 138 out of 351 clinicians responded (39% response rate). The findings indicate a consensus opinion that management should be tailored to individual symptom profiles but that there is little standardization of assessment procedures or tools in use. CONCLUSIONS: While the lack of standardized practice might provide flexibility to meet local demand, it has drawbacks. It makes it difficult to ascertain key standards of best practice, it complicates the process of clinical audit, it implies unequal patient access to care, and it limits the implementation of translational research outcomes. We recommend that core elements of practice should be standardized, including use of a validated tinnitus questionnaires and an agreed pathway for decision making to better understand the rationale for management strategies offered.
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spelling pubmed-34890492012-11-05 Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice Hoare, Derek J Gander, Phillip E Collins, Luke Smith, Sandra Hall, Deborah A J Eval Clin Pract Original Articles RATIONALE, AIM AND OBJECTIVE: In 2009, the UK Department of Health formalized recommended National Health Service practices for the management of tinnitus from primary care onwards. It is timely therefore to evaluate the perceived practicality, utility and impact of those guidelines in the context of current practice. METHODS: We surveyed current practice by posting a 36-item questionnaire to all audiology and hearing therapy staff that we were able to identify as being involved in tinnitus patient care in England. RESULTS: In total, 138 out of 351 clinicians responded (39% response rate). The findings indicate a consensus opinion that management should be tailored to individual symptom profiles but that there is little standardization of assessment procedures or tools in use. CONCLUSIONS: While the lack of standardized practice might provide flexibility to meet local demand, it has drawbacks. It makes it difficult to ascertain key standards of best practice, it complicates the process of clinical audit, it implies unequal patient access to care, and it limits the implementation of translational research outcomes. We recommend that core elements of practice should be standardized, including use of a validated tinnitus questionnaires and an agreed pathway for decision making to better understand the rationale for management strategies offered. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2012-04 /pmc/articles/PMC3489049/ /pubmed/21087449 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01566.x Text en © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ Re-use of this article is permitted in accordance with the Terms and Conditionsset out at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/onlineopen#OnlineOpen_Terms
spellingShingle Original Articles
Hoare, Derek J
Gander, Phillip E
Collins, Luke
Smith, Sandra
Hall, Deborah A
Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice
title Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice
title_full Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice
title_fullStr Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice
title_full_unstemmed Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice
title_short Management of tinnitus in English NHS audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice
title_sort management of tinnitus in english nhs audiology departments: an evaluation of current practice
topic Original Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3489049/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21087449
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01566.x
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