On Friday 15 July 2022, Mie Lærkegård Jørgensen will defend her PhD thesis "Exploring Innovative Hearing Aid Techniques for Tinnitus Treatment".
Time: 13:00
Place: Building 341, auditorium 22 & zoom: https://dtudk.zoom.us/meeting/register/u5UtduGprz8sG9LB7HC1TuRjEv7H8XiLvmpG
Please be aware that the PhD defense may be recorded - This will also be informed at the beginning of the PhD defense.
Supervisor: Professor Torsten Dau
Co-Supervisor: Postdoc Petteri Hyvärinen
PhD Sueli Caporali, WS Audiology
PhD Filip Rønne, WS Audiology
Assessment committee:
Associate Professor Jeremy Marozeau, DTU Health Tech
Professor Pim Van Dijk, University of Groningen
Professor Tobias Kleinjung, University of Zurich
Chairperson:
Senior Researcher Jens Bo Nielsen, DTU Health Tech
Abstract:
Acoustical therapy is a common tinnitus treatment that provides either amplification or different sounds and has been shown to decrease the tinnitus-related distress. However, crucial information is still missing regarding the general effects of the treatment, optimization of the treatment and the mechanisms leading to the improvements. In this thesis, the effects of combination hearing aids as tinnitus treatment were studied, with particular focus on the therapeutic, behavioral and physiological effects of amplification and sound therapies on tinnitus.
In a series of four experiments, this thesis demonstrated that broadband amplification reduces the tinnitus related distress and annoyance. It was further demonstrated that participants with hearing loss and tinnitus could be subdivided into groups with different responses to advanced hearing tests, which can form the basis of more personalized hearing aid fittings. Long-term use of sound therapy reduced the tinnitus-related distress, but the effect could not be explained by alterations in attention abilities. Furthermore, long-term use of sound therapy led to changes in the neuronal activity, but these changes were not correlated with decreases in the tinnitus related distress.
Overall, the findings presented in this thesis provide useful indications and suggestions for future research towards more personalized hearing aid fittings for tinnitus patients.