Introduction
Tinnitus
PAD, TINNITUS
Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is a habituation therapy that can alleviate tinnitus-induced distress by means of directive counseling and sound therapy [One problem with TRT is that it is very time-consuming. With classic TRT, patients undergo at least 3 or 4 sessions of extensive, one-on-one, 60-minute, directive counseling that includes education about the auditory system, brain function, and Jastreboff’s neurophysiological model [To further save manpower and time, we have come up with a TRT using interactive applications and smart devices (smart pad and smartphone). Instead of the classic one-on-one, 60-minute counseling, patients may engage with an application that delivers all the directive counseling content. A tablet computer or smart pad such as an iPad can be used for the bidirectional and intuitive operation. Traditional audiovisual devices such as a television are unidirectional: They can provide information to the user but cannot give any feedback. With the help of recent technology, we can now build applications that are bidirectional: The system can ask questions and assess progress, mimicking one-on-one counseling [Smart device–based TRT (smart-TRT) seems to have many advantages, but the efficacy of this new treatment has been questioned. Especially, the low level of human contact during TRT may lead to insufficient engagement with the educational intervention [