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Background and Aim: Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is recommended by specialists for curing the patients more than other conventional treatments. In tinnitus management, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the only EBP-based method. Different factors, such as training, can affect the therapists' attitudes towards the use of these treatments. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a training program in CBT on Iranian audiologists' attitudes towards using CBT for tinnitus management. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 88 audiologists (including 65 females) with a mean age of 33±9.54 years, who were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (receiving CBT training) and control (no training). The data were collected by a researcher-made demographic/clinical questionnaire and the Persian version of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale-35 (EBPAS-P35), which was completed before and after training. Results: Comparison of the total score of EBPAS-P35 showed a significant difference in the intervention groups before and after training (p<0.001). In addition, all EBPAS-P35 subscales scores were significantly different before and after training in the intervention group (p<0.001). A positive significant correlation was observed between the total score of the EBPAS-P35 and two factors of age (r=0.38, p=0.009) and clinical experience (r=0.34, p=0.009). Conclusion: Training in CBT can improve the attitude of audiologists in Iran towards using CBT for tinnitus management in patients. The age and clinical experience can affect the attitude of audiologists toward using CBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Tinnitus is one of the most common complaints, distressing about 15–24% of the adult population. Because of its pathophysiology heterogeneity, no curable treatment has been attained yet. Even though a neuromodulation management technique based on the tinnitus network model is currently being developed, it has not yet worked because the most involved brain areas still remain unpredictable from the patient's individual clinical and functional profile. A remarkable correlation between tinnitus network activity and the subjective measures of tinnitus like perceived loudness and annoyance and functional handicap is well established. Therefore, this study aimed to develop software for predicting the involved brain areas in the tinnitus network based on the subjective characteristics and clinical profile of patients using a supervised machine-learning method. Methods: The involved brain areas of 30 tinnitus patients ranging from 6 to 80 months in duration were recognized by using QEEG and sLORETA software. There was a correlation between subjective information and those areas of activities in all rhythms by which we wrote our software. Results: For verification and validation of the software, we compared and analyzed the results with SPSS data and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Conclusions: The findings of this study confirmed the effectiveness of the software in predicting the brain activity in tinnitus subjects; however, some other important parameters can be added to the model to strengthen its reliability and feasibility in clinical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: Evidence-based practice improves the quality of clinical performance. Attitude affects the implementation of research findings into practice. The Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS-36) evaluates the attitude of therapists toward evidence-based practice. The present study aimed to provide a validated Persian translation of the EBPAS-36 for audiologists. Methods: The original EBPAS-36 was translated by using the international quality of life assessment protocol. The validity of translated version was surveyed by an expert panel and the Persian version with 35 questions was yielded. A demographic questionnaire and EBPAS P-35 were given to 182 audiologists to evaluate the psychometric properties. The reliability was evaluated by completing the EBPAS P-35 after 2 weeks by 30 of the participants and Cronbach's alpha and Intra-Class Correlation (ICC) were calculated. Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) were also conducted. Results: The content validity ratio was above 0.33 for all except item 10 which was removed from the Persian version. The mean(SD) total score was 2.38(0.46). A significant relationship was observed between the total score and all subscales (p<0.05). The original factor structure showed an acceptable model fit (CMIN/DF=1.39, GFI=0.84, CFI=0.94, IFI=0.94, RMSEA=0.04) confirming the 12-factor structure of the EBPAS-36. The internal consistency was very good for the total score (α=0.88) and adequate to very good for the subscales (0.65--0.84), indicating high reliability. The ICC showed good agreement in the score of test-retest (total ICC=0.65). Conclusion: This study confirms good psychometric properties and validity of the EBPAS P-35 in a sample of audiologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]