Effectiveness of Ericksonian hypnosis in tinnitus therapy: Preliminary results

Introduction: The present study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of Ericksonian hypnosis in reducing the impact of tinnitus on patients' quality of life. Patients and methods: A controlled prospective longitudinal study was designed. The severity of tinnitus was assessed with Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) before hypnotherapy and then 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after therapy. Health Survey SF-36 was used to assess health-related quality of life before and after hypnotherapy. Thirty-nine patients with severe idiopathic subjective tinnitus were enrolled in the study. Results: The mean ± SD age of the patients was 44.5 ± 12.5 years, ranging from 21 to 65 years; 48% were female. Mean THI scores assessed at the beginning and 4 times after commencement of therapy were evaluated. The changes in THI scores were significant. Health Survey SF-36 was assessed separately. The greatest increases were seen in physical role followed by emotional role difficulty. Conclusion: The preliminary results of our study demonstrated the effectiveness of Ericksonian hypnosis in the study group.