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

每7个人中就有1个人会受到耳鸣的影响，耳鸣通常表现为耳朵里的高音铃声或嘶嘶声。它会显著影响生活质量、睡眠、注意力和情绪。耳鸣也是社会的一大负担；由于耳鸣的全科医生预约超过100万人次，英国国家医疗服务体系每年花费7.5亿英镑，加上生产力下降和其他成本，耳鸣每年使英国经济损失27亿英镑。耳鸣通常无法治愈，但通过认知行为疗法（CBT），即标准治疗（SoC），患者可以训练自己不受不愉快声音的干扰生活。然而，耳鸣的CBT治疗很难获得，因为它不是广泛可用的，患者需要长途跋涉，平均等待一年，在英国一些地区长达两年。通常唯一的选择是私人治疗——昂贵而且对很多人来说不可行。目前，CBT的资源密集型提供使得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方案。Oto建立了一个数字程序，通过让耳鸣患者直接通过智能手机获得循证治疗，大大提高了耳鸣患者的可及性。他们不必等待转诊给专家，而是可以在舒适的家中，在方便的时间，立即获得一线治疗。因此，患者可以控制耳鸣，从而提高他们的生活质量。该项目旨在进一步发展我们的解决方案，并在与剑桥大学合作的临床试验环境中，测试其取代治疗师提供的CBT的能力，使其成为一种更容易获得、更便宜、更有效的选择。这将使Oto通过商业合作伙伴关系和NHS的采用进行扩展，最终减轻全科医生和专科服务的负担，为服务提供商节省成本，并减少患者的长时间等待时间。

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.