Tinnitus Treatments

Question

With all the advances in hearing technology, are there alternate treatments I can recommend for my patients who suffer from tinnitus, besides the traditional tinnitus masker?

Answer

With tinnitus, as with a lot of health issues, patients and clinicians alike are looking for instant gratification, or a "magic pill." We want to take something today and to feel better tomorrow, without having to work at it. The reality is that it takes three critical things to help a typical tinnitus patient. First, you need some sort of ear-level intervention or sound therapy. Second, you need a clinician who understands the tinnitus patient and is willing to work with, and help, him or her. Third, and equally important, is that you need a patient who wants to get better and is willing to do his or her part in the process to get better.

Tinnitus consists of an audiological component, a neurological component, and an emotional component. We believe that all three components need to be addressed for treatment to be impactful, and the Neuromonics Oasis Tinnitus Treatment device does just that. It addresses the audiological component by using an individual's audiological results to customize the device. It addresses the neurological component by providing input to areas of the brain that are being deprived of stimulation, typically due to hearing loss - a common attribute of the tinnitus sufferer.

Then there is the emotional component. Typically, the sounds of tinnitus are quite bothersome to tinnitus patients, and then their bodies respond negatively. This reaction can result in a heightened state of anxiety, frustration, sleeplessness, and a host of other co-morbidities. In order to deal with the emotional aspect of tinnitus, the Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment gradually exposes patients to their tinnitus perception in a controlled environment, using music, allowing them to desensitize to the tinnitus sound over time.

A great deal of evidence exists to indicate how the body responds to music. Given the direct path that music has to our limbic system, and its ability to influence physiological change in the body, music turns out to be a perfect delivery vehicle for tinnitus treatment. The Oasis plays calming, relaxing music that is comfortable and easy to listen to. It enables us to break that negative association with the tinnitus and begin to desensitize the patients. The data shows that over time, anywhere between 86 to 90 percent of Neuromonics patients are able to achieve a clinically significant reduction in their tinnitus disturbance and their tinnitus awareness. Please review our clinical evidence or contact us for more information. For more information about Neuromonics you may also visit the Neuromonics Web Channel on AudiologyOnline.

Editor's Note: This Ask the Expert was taken from an AudiologyOnline interview with Curtis Amann. To access the complete interview, please visit /interview/interview_detail.asp?interview_id=620.

Curtis Amann is Director of Sales for Neuromonics, Inc., which manufactures and distributes the only FDA-cleared, patented and clinically proven medical device designed for long-term significant relief of tinnitus. Amann works with audiology providers throughout world to help them achieve optimum results with tinnitus treatment for their patients.