The effectiveness of bibliotherapy in alleviating tinnitus-related distress

Objective: The present study examined the efficacy of bibliotherapy in assisting individuals experiencing distress related to tinnitus. Methods: One hundred sixty-two tinnitus suffers from Australia participated in it study designed to examine the effectiveness of a cognitive-behaviorally based self-help book in reducing distress. To maximize the ecological validity of the findings, we excluded no individuals interested in treatment for tinnitus-related distress Results: The experimental condition lost 35% of participants ill postassessment, compared to 10% in the control group. In all analysis of participants who completed postintervention assessment, those assigned to the intervention condition, who received a tinnitus self-help book, showed significantly less tinnitus-related distress and general distress 2 months later compared to those assigned to the waiting list control condition The intervention group's reduction in tinnitus-related distress and general distress from preintervention to postintervention 2 months later was significant, and these participants maintained a significant reduction in distress on follow-up 4 months after they received the tinnitus self-help book. A long-term follow-up Of all participants, who at that time had received the book at least a year previously, showed I significant reduction in tinnitus distress. Although these group differences and pre-post changes were significant, effect sizes were small Intention-to-treat analyses showed no significant effect for between-groups analyses, but did show a significant effect for the 1-year follow-up pre-post analysis Conclusion: Information on the effectiveness of using a self-help book, without therapist assistance, in alleviating distress is important, as bibliotherapy can provide inexpensive treatment that is not bound by time or place. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved