EMDR as a Treatment for Tinnitus
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) as a Treatment for Tinnitus: A Feasibility Study
IRAS ID
174629
Contact name
Phillips John
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Norfolk and Norwich NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 27 days
Research summary
Tinnitus may be considered as a form of phantom auditory sensation and as such parallels may be drawn with other forms of phantom sensation, such as the sensation of pain in an amputated limb (phantom limb pain). There has been recent interest in the use of eye movement therapies to treat patients with phantom sensations such as these. The role of eye movements in the propagation and maintenance of tinnitus has also been well established. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an established form of eye movement therapy called Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). This research is important as EMDR has produced encouraging results for other forms of phantom sensation and current models of tinnitus fit well with the proposed mode of action of EMDR. Tinnitus is very prevalent in our population and is often associated with significant discomfort; however, there is a severe lack of effective treatments based on well designed clinical trials. We wish to assess the usefulness of EMDR against the current treatment that is available in many institutions including our own. We intend to recruit 15-30 patients initially to run a pilot study, before embarking on a larger scale study. We hope that this pilot study we run over the course of a year. If this study demonstrates a significant improvement in tinnitus in patient undergoing EMDR, this will be an important step forward not only for treating patients with this disorder, but also for understanding the pathways that initiate, propagate and maintain tinnitus perception.\n
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
16/WA/0136
Date of REC Opinion
18 May 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion