ArticleBMC health services research2017
An economic evaluation of the healthcare cost of tinnitus management in the UK.
Article in BMC health services research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05417711 (Efficacy of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Tailor-Made Notched Music Therapy Versus Tailor-made Notched Music Training for Chronic Subjective Tinnitus), which is not on this map. Cited by 63 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Efficacy of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation Paired With Tailor-Made Notched Music Therapy Versus Tailor-made Notched Music Training for Chronic Subjective Tinnitus: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Clinical Trial
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Use of Expert Elicitation among Computational Modeling Studies in Health Research: A Systematic Review.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic Review on Healthcare and Societal Costs of Tinnitus.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- A multidisciplinary European guideline for tinnitus: diagnostics, assessment, and treatment.HNO · 2019Guideline
- Efficacy of Nortriptyline-Topiramate and Verapamil-Paroxetine in Tinnitus Management: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of Guided Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs Face-to-Face Clinical Care for Treatment of Tinnitus: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2018Trial
- Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2018Trial
- Longitudinal study of dietary intake and risk of persistent tinnitus in 2 large independent cohorts of women.American journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Tinnitus.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2026Review
- Noise and the risk of tinnitus: A two-sample Mendelian randomized study.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2025Article
- The Co-Occurrence of Temporomandibular Disorders in Patients Diagnosed with Tinnitus: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Research trends and hotspots of cognitive behavioral therapy for tinnitus: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- The Out-of-pocket Expenses of People With Tinnitus in Europe.Journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
- Using Participatory Action Research to Redirect Tinnitus Treatment and Research-An Interview Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- Greenness, Genetic Predisposition, and Tinnitus.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Deep Brain Stimulation for Primary Refractory Tinnitus: A Systematic Review.Brain sciences · 2024Review
- Digital thErapy For Improved tiNnitus carE Study (DEFINE): Protocol for a randomised controlled trial.PloS one · 2024Article
- The impact of tinnitus on Dutch general practices: A retrospective study using routine healthcare data.PloS one · 2024Article
- Current and Emerging Therapies for Chronic Subjective Tinnitus.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Influence of Bone Conduction Hearing Device Implantation on Health-Related Quality of Life for Patients with and without Tinnitus.Audiology research · 2023Article
- Targeting the Limbic System: Insights into Its Involvement in Tinnitus.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is no standard treatment pathway for tinnitus patients in the UK. Possible therapies include education and reassurance, cognitive behavioural therapies, modified tinnitus retraining therapy (education and sound enrichment), or amplification of external sound using hearing aids. However, the effectiveness of most therapies is somewhat controversial. As health services come under economic pressure to deploy resources more effectively there is an increasing need to demonstrate the value of tinnitus therapies, and how value may be continuously enhanced. The objective of this project was to map out existing clinical practice, estimate the NHS costs associated with the management approaches used, and obtain initial indicative estimates of cost-effectiveness.
methodsCurrent treatment pathways, costs and health outcomes were determined from the tinnitus literature, national statistics, a patient survey, and expert opinion. These were used to create an Excel-based economic model of therapy options for tinnitus patients. The probabilities associated with the likelihood of an individual patient receiving a particular combination of therapies was used to calculate the average cost of treatment per patient, average health outcome per patient measured in QALYs gained, and cost-effectiveness, measured by the average cost per QALY gained.
resultsThe average cost of tinnitus treatment per patient per year is GB£717, equating to an NHS healthcare bill of GB£750 million per year. Across all pathways, tinnitus therapy costs £10,600 per QALY gained. Results were relatively insensitive to restrictions on access to cognitive behaviour therapy, and a subsequent reliance on other therapies.
conclusionsNHS provisions for tinnitus are cost-effective against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cost-effective threshold. Most interventions help, but education alone offers very small QALY gains. The most cost-effective therapies in the model were delivered within audiology.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.