Oto Health: a clinically-validated digital CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) platform for tinnitus

耳鸣影响我们中的七分之一，通常表现为耳朵中的高音铃声或嘶嘶声。它可以显着影响生活质量，睡眠，注意力和情绪。耳鸣也是一个很大的负担，对社会;与1 m + GP预约耳鸣，NHS花费c.£ 750 m每年，并与其他成本的生产力损失，耳鸣剥夺英国经济£ 2.7亿每年. rnrn通常没有治愈耳鸣，但与认知行为疗法（CBT），护理标准（SoC），患者可以训练自己生活不受不愉快的声音。然而，耳鸣的CBT很难获得，因为它并不广泛，患者长途旅行，平均每年面临等待名单，在英国的一些地区多达两年。通常唯一的选择是私人治疗-昂贵且对许多人来说不可行。然而，目前资源密集型的CBT交付使耳鸣治疗成为引入数字技术的主要空间，但目前没有解决方案提供临床验证的远程CBT程序。Oto已经建立了一个数字程序，通过允许耳鸣患者直接从智能手机访问循证治疗，大大提高了可访问性。他们不必等待转诊到专科医生那里，而是可以在方便的时候，在自己舒适的家中立即获得一线治疗。因此，患者可以控制自己的耳鸣，从而提高他们的生活质量。耳鸣项目旨在进一步开发我们的解决方案，并在与剑桥大学合作的临床试验中，测试其取代治疗师提供的CBT的能力，作为一种更容易获得，更便宜和有效的选择。这将使Oto能够通过商业伙伴关系和NHS的采用进行扩展，最终减轻全科医生和专家服务的负担，为服务提供商节省成本，并减少患者的漫长等待时间。

Tinnitus affects 1 in 7 of us and is commonly experienced as a high-pitched ringing or hissing in the ear. It can significantly impact quality of life, sleep, concentration, and mood. Tinnitus is also a large burden on society; with 1m+ GP appointments for tinnitus, the NHS spends c.£750m annually, and with loss of productivity among other costs, tinnitus robs the UK economy of £2.7b each year.rnrnThere is usually no cure for tinnitus, but with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the standard-of-care (SoC), patients can train themselves to live undisturbed by the unpleasant sound. CBT for tinnitus, however, is difficult to access because it is not widely available, with patients travelling long distances, facing waiting lists averaging a year, up to two in some UK areas. Often the only option is private therapy - expensive and not viable for many.rnrnThe current resource-intensive delivery of CBT makes tinnitus therapy a prime space to introduce digital technology, but no current solution provides a clinically-validated remote CBT programme. Oto has built a digital programme that greatly enhances accessibility by allowing tinnitus sufferers to access evidence-based therapy directly from their smartphones. Instead of waiting to be referred to a specialist, they can immediately access first-line treatment from the comfort of their own homes, at a convenient time. Patients thus take control of their tinnitus and, as a result, improve their quality of life.rnrnThis project aims to further develop our solution and, in a clinical trial setting in collaboration with University of Cambridge, test its ability to supplant therapist-provided CBT as a more accessible, inexpensive and effective option. This will enable Oto's expansion via commercial partnerships and adoption by the NHS, ultimately reducing the burden on GPs and specialist services, representing cost savings for service providers, and reducing long waiting times for patients.