Question
Are Phonak Lyric hearing aids a valid part of a tinnitus management program?
Answer
Yes! Since Lyric launched in 2007, there has been anecdotal evidence from Lyric providers that tinnitus patients benefit from the 24/7 continuous amplification of Lyric, especially with reduced tinnitus symptoms at night. There have been two studies using the Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) to measure the effect of three different hearing interventions: hearing aids, hearing aids with a masker, and Lyric.
The first study by Dr. James Henry et.al. (2016)1 found that all devices in the study offer improvement in the functional effects of tinnitus. While all subscales of the TFI showed improvements, the sleep subscale showed a clinically significant improvement indicating a significant reduction of tinnitus symptoms for the Lyric group. This outcome supports the provider-reported anecdotal evidence and aligns with the unique benefit of Lyric as a tinnitus management option: overnight use leading to sustained auditory stimulation at night.
The second study, by Dominic Power, as reported in a Phonak Field Study News by Anna Biggins in 20212, was in agreement with Henry, et al (2016) finding all hearing interventions in the study offered improvement for functional effects of tinnitus. In this study, the Lyric subgroup had a higher number of subjects achieving clinically significant reduction in TFI scores compared to the other 2 groups (hearing aid and hearing aid with masker). Additionally, the Lyric subgroup showed clinically significant reduction in TFI scores at 1 month and 3 months. Sleep quality was also assessed using the Sleep Quality Scale, which showed improvement for the Lyric subgroup at 1 and 3 months.
Taken together, the results of these studies allow Phonak to claim that Lyric is a valid hearing aid to use as part of a tinnitus management program for patients with mild to moderate hearing loss accompanied by tinnitus.
1 J.Henry, et al (2016). Randomized control trial: Extended wear Vs conventional vs Combination devices for tinnitus. Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 00 (0),1-16.
2 Biggins, A. & Power, D., (2021). Reducing Tinnitus with hearing aids: Does Phonak Lyric™ offer a more effective option? Phonak Field Study News retrieved from phonak.com/evidence.
