Treatments for Tinnitus

Treating tinnitus involves managing and lessening the bothersome effects it has on our well-being.  Occasionally, tinnitus can be completely eliminated.  However, most of the time there is no simple cure for the majority of patients who have tinnitus.  It is important to have a good understanding of what tinnitus is, and what it isn’t.  Treatment involves managing tinnitus through a variety of approaches.  While there is no simple cure for most individuals with tinnitus, treatment intervention is frequently successful.

Management options we provide include: counseling and education, tinnitus masking via the use of white noise, hearing aids and Neuromonics. Dietary and social modifications can also effectively reduce tinnitus awareness.  These may include: reducing dietary sodium, alcohol, and nicotine; some individuals link food additives and processed foods with tinnitus.  Managing and reducing stress can improve tinnitus.  Regular exercise and improving sleeping patterns can also lessen tinnitus.  Stress relaxation techniques such as biofeedback, yoga, acupuncture and hypnotherapy can have beneficial effects.  Some tinnitus sufferers find that engaging in social events, hobbies or recreational activities serve to divert their attention from the symptoms.  Others find that wearing hearing protection is helpful.

Tinnitus treatment and management requires patience, commitment to therapy and consistency in using the treatment strategies.  Improvement is often experienced over the course of several months.

If you experience bothersome tinnitus, we recommend scheduling a comprehensive evaluation.  This usually involves an examination by a physician, and a complete audiology evaluation by our audiologists.  Other testing including blood work and scans may be recommended based on the results of the exam and hearing test.