What to Expect

First, you will fill out a survey and have a virtual visit to see if you can join the study. If you qualify and want to join, you will have up to five in-person visits. At the first visit, you get a hearing test. This visit will take about 1 hour. At the next visit we will do baseline testing including a brain test (called an EEG), a tinnitus test, and memory and thinking tests. The EEG test shows what your brain is doing. Small sensors with wires will be placed on your head that pick up tiny electrical signals from your brain. If you have bothersome tinnitus, you will be randomly placed into one of two groups, like flipping a coin. One group will start 8 weeks of internet-based therapy right away. The second group will start 8 weeks of internet-based therapy 8 weeks after the baseline visit. If you do not have bothersome tinnitus, you will only have in-person testing. At the other visits, you will do three things: a brain test, a tinnitus test, and memory and thinking tests. For the tinnitus test, you will listen to different sounds and say which sound is most like your tinnitus. You will also hear the sounds at different volumes, and say which volume is closest to your tinnitus. For the thinking and memory tests, you’ll be asked to remember things, repeat words, sentences, and numbers, draw pictures, and write things down. Each visit will take about 3 hours.

Study Duration

If you have bothersome tinnitus, you will come in for up to five visits over 7-10 months. If your tinnitus is not bothersome, you will come in for three visits over 7-10 months.