TINNITUS TREATMENT

There are some important exceptions to this. Some forms of tinnitus, particularly middle-ear tinnitus, can be treated. Sometimes a medication can cause tinnitus, and stopping or changing medications can eliminate the tinnitus (check with whoever prescribed the medication).

There are two broad categories of treatments that help people adjust to their tinnitus.

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• Counseling. Counseling can be beneficial with thoughts and emotions, hearing, sleep and concentration. One example of this approach is Tinnitus Activities Treatment, which includes individualized collaborative counseling in each of these areas.
   

• Sound Therapy. Many tinnitus sufferers report that the presence of background sound reduces the prominence or the loudness of their tinnitus. The background sound can be present in the environment (e.g. fan noise). There are non-wearable devices that produce pleasant background sound (e.g. raindrops). Additionally, wearable maskers or sound generators are available that produce a ‘shhh’ noise (these can also be combined with hearing aids). The use of hearing aids improves communication, reduces the stress associated with intensive listening, and also can partially mask the tinnitus. Music can also be very effective in non-wearable and wearable devices.
   

• Self-help Books. There are also some excellent self-help books available.

Reprinted with permission from the Better Hearing Institute Richard Tyler, PhD – The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA