The Efficacy of Notched Music Therapy vs Conventional Music Therapy for Chronic Subjective Tinnitus Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
Jiang, W., Zheng, Y., et al. (2025).
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-025-09260-9.
<div>This systematic review with meta-analysis compares notched music therapy (NMT) to conventional music therapy (CMT) tinnitus outcomes in individuals with unilateral or bilateral chronic subjective tinnitus (CST), with or without hearing loss.</div>
Not stated
From database inception to October 2024
<div>Randomized controlled trials, controlled trials, or case cohort studies. All studies had at least two arms, an intervention group and a control group. </div>
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<div>NMT demonstrated significant reductions in tinnitus scores compared to CMT for individuals with CST. The effect of NMT on Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores after different treatment amounts showed the following mean difference (MD) pooled effect sizes:</div>
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<ul>
<li>One month of treatment: THI MD=-4.48 and VAS MD=-0.84;</li>
<li>Three months of treatment: THI MD=-8.62 and VAS MD=-1.13; and</li>
<li>Six months of treatment: THI MD=-24.61 and VAS MD=-1.86.</li>
</ul>
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<div>One study reported adverse reactions (12 of 37 participants) such as psychological tension, change in tinnitus sound, and additional sounds.</div>
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<div>Limitations of this review include the small sample sizes and the inability to assess the impact of NMT on individuals with CST and hearing loss. Additional research with larger sample sizes is needed to investigate the impact of notch width and tinnitus frequency characteristics on NMT outcomes in individuals with CST.</div>
