The Daily Experience of Subjective Tinnitus: Ecological Momentary Assessment Versus End-of-Day Diary.
Matheus P C G Lourenco, Jorge Simoes, Johan W S Vlaeyen and 1 others
PMID 33974776WHAT IT FOUND
For tinnitus patients in treatment, a once-daily evening diary matched smartphone prompts across the day for most experiences.
It reported small differences, usually worse. The diary is a less burdensome alternative for routine monitoring.
Key findings
01Diary ratings correlated strongly with momentary ratings for all but one item, but daily means differed significantly for tinnitus anger, anxiety, invasiveness, pleasantness, sadness and stress.
02Diary scores were worse than early-in-the-day smartphone scores for tinnitus anger, anxiety, invasiveness, sadness and stress.
03Smartphone ratings changed after 6 pm: tinnitus anger, annoyance, fear, invasiveness, pleasantness, sadness, anxiety and stress improved, while tinnitus avoidance and distraction worsened.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only nine participants were analysed from an original pool of twelve; one dropped out and two had unreliable app data. The sample was mostly men aged 40 or older (88.89% men), so it may not generalise. The significant differences were small and may reflect the large number of data entries rather than a clinically meaningful gap. Items were chosen by specialists, not patients, and the 0-6 scale was partly due to app limitations. Because many comparisons were made, small differences can reach significance even after correction.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by non-U.S. government funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that momentary smartphone assessment is clearly better than the evening diary. The diary correlated strongly with momentary ratings for almost all items, and the significant differences were small in nine participants.