Limitations
tinnitus
CHRONIC DISORDER, TINNITUS
There are several limitations in this study. First, this was not a randomized trial. Although this was a prospective study and the smart-TRT group was enrolled according to the predetermined plan, the conv-TRT group had pre-existing data that were closely matched to the smart-TRT group. However, we believe this point did not undermine the main idea of this study. This is because (1) all the baseline demographics were very similar between the 2 groups and (2) the patients were recruited from the same institute during a similar period, managed by the same medical personnel, and evaluated using identical questionnaires at identical time points. Second, the follow-up duration was not long enough. Since tinnitus is a chronic disorder, the treatment effect should be followed for several months to years. Unfortunately, we were only able to follow the patients up to 3 months. There is a possibility that the results could be different in the long term. However, according to our previous studies, the short-term effect of TRT can also provide clinically important information [