Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

Studies suggest that approximately 20 percent of people in the United States have experienced or live with chronic tinnitus. The affliction also plagues up to half of returning combat soldiers. While not a cure, tinnitus retraining therapy was designed to help people overcome the anxiety caused by the condition.

Tinnitus Explained

Tinnitus involves the perception of an unusual noise or ringing in one or both ears. The condition may occur as a result of hearing loss due to aging, a circulatory system disorder or an ear injury. Sometimes, a medication may produce the symptom as a side effect. Discontinuing the medication may stop the problem. For some people, the symptoms last briefly for a few weeks or months before disappearing without intervention. However for others, the noise becomes a chronic annoyance. In these patients, tinnitus commonly causes depression or interferes with sleep.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

Teams of hearing professionals administer tinnitus retraining therapy. The process involves learning techniques to deal with the inconvenience on both a conscious and a subconscious level. Treatment might be compared with moving into a home near a railroad track. Initially, the noise is troubling. However, after time, the occupants barely notice. The therapy revolves around three steps.

• Specialists perform an ear examination, obtain a thorough patient history and learn about the individual's daily living activities and habits.

• A broad-band noise generating device is placed behind the ear, which diverts attention from the perceived noise, which seemingly originates from inside the affected ear.

• Emotional and psychological support and therapy teaches the patient to ignore the tinnitus. The clients are taught deep relaxation and stress management techniques. Therapy serves to reduce or eliminate the anxiety associated with the condition. In this way, the patient realizes the condition is not a health hazard and learns to spend less time concentrating on the annoyance.

The length of tinnitus retraining therapy varies from client to client and the facility involved with providing treatment. The ultimate goal is for the patient to become used to the disturbance and be able to carry on with normal daily routines.

Additional Options

For some, low-level sound generators prove as annoying as the tinnitus itself. For these people, a combination of hearing aids designed to amplify background sounds along with noise maskers prove a more effective treatment. Other people benefit from neuromonics acoustic desensitization protocols, which combines counseling with a processor and high fidelity earphones that transmit filtered, pleasant music to the wearer.

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