![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The identified apps were intended to be used by hearing health care professionals, people with tinnitus, or both. Tinnitus apps identified by the authors were mentioned in 2 categories: (1) screening and assessment (estimation of tinnitus pitch and loudness) and (2) intervention and rehabilitation (tinnitus management tools such as maskers and sound stimulation). A study by Paglialonga et al identified and assessed apps for hearing science and care in general, which were available on the leading platforms (iOS, Android, and Windows phone stores). To date, no research has looked specifically at the use of mobile apps for tinnitus management. However, people with tinnitus might find some of the apps helpful, for example, those developed for the management of stress and anxiety. Although the library includes apps developed for variety of health care conditions as well as healthy living in general, it does not currently list apps for management of tinnitus. Some apps were tested further to assure they meet NHS standards for clinical effectiveness, safety, usability, and accessibility. Currently, in the early version of the library, there are 42 apps listed that “meet the high standard of quality, safety, and effectiveness”. In 2013, the National Health Services (NHS) Commissioning Board created a digital apps library for health care apps. More than 90% of the apps tested received a score of 40 or less out of a possible 100, which indicates the general low quality of the apps tested. The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics assessed the functionality of 16,275 health care apps according to 25 individual criteria, including the type and quantity of information provided by the app, how the app tracks or captures user data, the communication processes utilized by the app, and the quantity of device capabilities included in the app. The quality and functionality of health care apps, including tinnitus apps can vary greatly. The attitudes of patients and health care professionals toward these new developments also need to be assessed and addressed. There are also potential issues associated with mHealth, and these include safety or misuse, quality and effectiveness, responsibility, and risk. The use of mobile apps to deliver health care (mobile health, mHealth) has several advantages, including (1) improved access to health care, (2) improved quality of health care, and (3) lowering the cost of health care. More than 37 million people aged 16 to 75 years use their device every day, and 34% look at their device within 5 min of waking. According to the recent Global Mobile Consumer Survey by Deloitte, 85% of adults in the United Kingdom own a mobile phone, and this number is expected to increase to 90% by 2020. Recent years have seen a substantial increase in the use of mobile technology. Mobile technology, including mobile phone provides an additional medium through which people with tinnitus can access different tinnitus management options, including sound therapy. Sound therapy can be provided by a range of media, including hearing aids, wearable sound generators, combination hearing aids, or bedside or tabletop sound generators. Potential mechanisms of benefit include making tinnitus less noticeable, promoting habituation, distracting attention from tinnitus, relaxation, and promoting neuroplastic changes within the auditory system. Sound therapy, in the form of hearing aids or sound generators, is a core component of many tinnitus management programs. It affects 6 million people in the United Kingdom. Tinnitus is the perception of a sound without any outside source. ![]()
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