Whilst evidence indicates many children experience troublesome tinnitus, specialist services for children are far less established than those available for adults. To date, there is limited understanding of how paediatric tinnitus is managed in the UK, and to what extent current practice reflects what is recommended. This service evaluation aimed to 1) profile how tinnitus in children is managed in UK clinical practice, and assess to what extent care provided by services reflects advice included in the British Society of Audiology (BSA) Tinnitus in Children Practice Guidance, 2) collate clinician opinions on how services may be optimised, and 3) identify common problems experienced by children who present with bothersome tinnitus in clinic. As part of a larger survey, eight questions regarding services for paediatric tinnitus were distributed to UK NHS audiology services via email and social media. Representatives from eighty-seven services responded between July and September 2017. Fifty-three percent of respondents reported that their department provided a paediatric tinnitus service. Among these services, there was widespread use of most BSA recommended assessments and treatments. Less widely used practices were the assessment of mental health (42%), and the use of psychological treatment approaches; cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (28%), mindfulness (28%), and narrative therapy (14%). There was varied use of measurement tools to assess tinnitus in children, and a minority of respondents reported using adult tinnitus questionnaires with children. Frequently reported tinnitus-related problems presented by children were sleep difficulties, concentration difficulties at school, situation-specific concentration difficulties, and emotional distress. Approaches used to manage children with troublesome tinnitus in UK NHS services are largely consistent and reflective of the current practice guidance. However, findings from this study indicate specialist staff training, access to child-specific tools, and the treatment and referral of children with tinnitus-related psychological problems represent key areas in need of optimisation.

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英国国家卫生服务部听力科对儿科耳鸣服务的评估

尽管有证据表明许多儿童会感到耳鸣，但为儿童提供的专门服务远不如成人能获得的专业服务。迄今为止，对于在英国如何管理小儿耳鸣以及目前的做法在多大程度上反映了推荐的方法，人们知之甚少。这项服务评估旨在1）概述英国临床实践中儿童耳鸣的处理方式，并评估服务所提供的护理在多大程度上反映了英国听力学会（BSA）儿童耳鸣的临床实践指南中的建议； 2）整理临床医生关于如何优化服务的意见，以及3）确定临床上出现耳鸣的儿童所遇到的常见问题。作为较大调查的一部分，有关小儿耳鸣服务的八个问题已通过电子邮件和社交媒体分发给了英国NHS听力学服务。2017年7月至2017年9月期间，来自八十七家服务中心的代表做出了回应。百分之五十三的受访者表示，他们的科室提供了小儿耳鸣服务。在这些服务中，大多数BSA建议的评估和治疗方法得到了广泛使用。不太广泛使用的做法是对心理健康的评估（42％）以及使用心理治疗方法；认知行为疗法（CBT）（28％），正念（28％）和叙述疗法（14％）。测量工具用于评估儿童耳鸣的方法多种多样，少数受访者报告对儿童使用成人耳鸣问卷。儿童经常报告的与耳鸣有关的问题包括睡眠困难，在学校集中注意力，因情况而定的集中困难和情绪困扰。英国NHS服务中用于治疗耳鸣困扰儿童的方法在很大程度上是一致的，并反映了当前的操作指南。但是，这项研究的结果表明，专业人员培训，使用针对儿童的工具以及患有耳鸣相关心理问题的儿童的治疗和转诊是需要优化的关键领域。英国NHS服务中用于治疗耳鸣困扰儿童的方法在很大程度上是一致的，并反映了当前的操作指南。但是，这项研究的结果表明，专业人员培训，使用针对儿童的工具以及患有耳鸣相关心理问题的儿童的治疗和转诊是需要优化的关键领域。英国NHS服务中用于治疗耳鸣困扰儿童的方法在很大程度上是一致的，并反映了当前的操作指南。但是，这项研究的结果表明，专业人员培训，使用针对儿童的工具以及患有耳鸣相关心理问题的儿童的治疗和转诊是需要优化的关键领域。