Hypnotherapy (hypnosis)

Claims for treatment

The treatment deals with the psychological aspects of tinnitus, such as anger, stress, anxiety.[1]

What is the treatment?

The treatment involves using hypnosis, positive suggestions and guided imagery. The therapist will guide patient into a deeply relaxed state either in person or via a sound recording.

What are the downsides of this treatment?

Cost – this can be around £50-£150 per session.[2]

Can be offered by people with little training.

Hazardous for people with psychosis or certain types of personality disorder.[3]

Has there been research into this treatment?

Yes, but very few recent papers mention hypnotherapy as a tinnitus treatment at all. Previous papers have been small scale trials of poor quality.[4]

What does the research say?

There is no evidence available to show whether hypnotherapy is effective in people with tinnitus.[4]

A systematic review of hypnotherapy in patients with stress concluded that the effectiveness of this intervention is still unclear.[5]

There is some evidence that hypnotherapy reduces anxiety, but it is more effective when combined with other psychological interventions.[6]

A systematic review of hypnotherapy for insomnia concluded that the effectiveness of this intervention is still unclear.[7]

There is very little evidence on whether hypnotherapy causes adverse effects, but one systematic review showed no evidence that it does.[8]

Tinnitus guidelines do not make any mention of using hypnotherapy as a treatment for tinnitus.[9-12]

How high quality is the research?

A

Would Tinnitus UK support further studies into this treatment?

Yes, if a high quality, large scale study.

Comments

** A = Systematic review/meta analysis. B = Randomised control studies. C = Cohort studies. D = Case control studies. E = case studies/reports. +/- to be used to indicate quality within bands