What is acoustic therapy?

Sounds are used to cover up, or mask, the tinnitus. This distracts your brain and helps you tune out the ringing in your ears. Electronic devices that produce white noise, air conditioners, fans, soft music, etc. can all be employed. Audio files, sleep noise generators, tinnitus specific earbuds can all be used.

What is tinnitus retraining therapy?

Tinnitus retraining therapy utilizes a portable sound generator that produces soft patterned tones to help desensitize the brain to the sounds of tinnitus.

Are steroid injections helpful?

Meniere’s disease has a number of symptoms, including hearing loss, tinnitus and vertigo that fluctuate due to increased fluid pressures in the ear organs. The resulting hearing loss and tinnitus can be treated with a series of injections of a potent steroid, which has an 85 percent chance of reducing symptoms.

Can surgery treat tinnitus?

Those with a benign tumor of the cranial nerve that connects the inner ear and the brain known as an acoustic neuroma also suffer from tinnitus. The tinnitus may be resolved through a surgical removal of the acoustic neuroma.

Can hearing aids help manage tinnitus?

Hearing aids are used to amplify background sounds, which can mask tinnitus. These devices can also help you distinguish one sound from another, improving communication and helping with focus and concentration difficulties.

Can counseling be used to help manage tinnitus?

Counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be practical in helping you manage your tinnitus symptoms by reducing the stress, anxiety and sleeplessness that are often associated with tinnitus.

Tinnitus Management | Willamette ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery

There is no universal cure for tinnitus, but there are treatments that make it less severe. The primary treatment goal is to reduce the impact tinnitus is having on your life rather than making it vanish completely.

In many cases, the exact cause of tinnitus can’t be identified. In these cases, symptoms can often be managed successfully through a variety of strategies.

Sound waves illustrated over someone's ear

Sound Therapy

Sounds are used to stimulate the auditory system and reduce the perception of tinnitus. This distracts your brain, reducing the relative intensity of the tinnitus, and helps you “tune out” the sound of your tinnitus. Devices that produce white noise, air conditioners, fans, soft music, etc. can all be employed. In general, any sound that is relatively boring and not unpleasant to you can be useful for acoustic therapy.

Hearing Aids

Hearing loss can cause maladaptive neuroplastic changes in the brain. Hearing aids are used to stimulate the auditory pathways received by the brain. Background sounds can mask tinnitus. Hearing aids can also help the patient better distinguish one sound from another, improving communication and helping with focus and concentration difficulties. Many devices also come packaged with noise generators to supplement ambient sounds if amplification alone does not adequately reduce tinnitus.

Stress Management

Tinnitus is highly affected by stress – both physical and emotional – so stress management is an important part of tinnitus management. It is important to address both the stress caused by the tinnitus itself and in your life overall to reduce the severity of your tinnitus. Cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction have both been shown to be helpful in helping to manage tinnitus symptoms.

Education

Understanding what tinnitus is and why it happens is useful for many people to help reduce the stress and anxiety surrounding tinnitus, which will ultimately help to reduce the severity of the tinnitus overall. Learning strategies to help manage tinnitus can give a sense of control, which also helps to reduce the stress caused by tinnitus. The professionals at Willamette ENT Hearing Center are a good place to start to learn more about your tinnitus and what you can do about it.

Call Willamette ENT & Facial Plastic Surgery at (503) 581-1567 for more information or to schedule an appointment.

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