Tinnitus clinical services are far from standardized, and there is no system for credentialing clinicians for competency in providing tinnitus care. While a number of well-established, research-based methods are available for the clinical management of tinnitus, no one method has been proven more effective than the others, and differences in methodology result in different outcomes. Authored by James A. Henry, PhD, internationally recognized tinnitus researcher and clinician, Tinnitus Stepped-Care: A Standardized Framework for Clinical Practice provides a clinical path to follow for addressing these differences in order to deliver tinnitus care in a logical, step-wise fashion. Clinicians can continue to utilize their preferred methodology, but within the uniform framework that is offered by Tinnitus Stepped-Care.
A clinic adopting this framework would follow these specific steps:
Step 1 – Triage: Inform other hospitals and clinics in their geographic area about tinnitus and how to properly refer patients who complain of tinnitus.
Step 2 – Audiology Services: Conduct the initial assessment of patients using a minimum of specific measures that are consistent across clinics.
Step 3 – Tinnitus Education: Advance patients with bothersome tinnitus to learn about tinnitus, how and why it can be bothersome, and what realistically can be done about it.
Step 4 – Tinnitus Counseling: Make available an established, research-based method of treatment for tinnitus.
Step 5 – Comprehensive Assessment: Conduct a comprehensive assessment for patients who require further care to determine why services thus far have been inadequate.
Step 6 – Expanded Treatment: Provide further treatment or refer patients to another tinnitus specialist to address any needs identified in Step 5.
Key Features
Includes reproducible clinical tools and assessments, such as the Tinnitus Screener, Tinnitus and Hearing Survey, Sound Hypersensitivity Interview, and Tinnitus Interview
Provides detailed clinical algorithms, flowcharts, and visual aids, including the Step 2 Audiology Services Decision Tree and the comprehensive Tinnitus Stepped-Care flowchart to support decision-making
A dedicated chapter on how to screen for and assess loudness hyperacusis, pain hyperacusis, misophonia, noise sensitivity, and phonophobia
Discusses how testing the stepped-care approach could be done with the creation of a learning health network (LHN) that is specific to tinnitus to foster collaborative clinical research and standardize tinnitus care nationally
While primarily written for audiologists who are the main providers of tinnitus clinical services, this book is also appropriate for psychologists and other mental health clinicians who provide tinnitus counseling, and for otolaryngologists who often see tinnitus patients and may be unaware of the step-wise clinical procedures for providing tinnitus care.
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Forms/Documents, Appendices
Book Details
Title: Tinnitus Stepped-Care: A Standardized Framework for Clinical Practice | Author: James A. Henry | Published: 11/20/2025 | ISBN: 978-1-63550-791-1 | https://www.pluralpublishing.com/publications/tinnitus-stepped-care-a-standardized-framework-for-clinical-practice
About The Authors
James A. Henry, PhD, is an audiologist with a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience. He spent over 35 years as an auditory researcher, focusing mostly on tinnitus. During his career, he received funding of $28 million as principal or co-principal investigator for 43 projects and grants. He has authored over 250 publications, including more than 140 articles in peer-reviewed journals and nine books (this one is his tenth). He gave lectures and presentations nationally and internationally. His accomplishments resulted in numerous national awards. Dr. Henry, who retired in 2022, continues to present lectures and training workshops, serves as an educational consultant, and maintains his role as editor-at-large for the American Tinnitus Association’s journal Tinnitus Today. His primary interest is writing books about tinnitus, sound hypersensitivity disorders, and hearing loss. Since his retirement, he has published four books under his corporation Ears Gone Wrong®, LLC. Each of those four books supplements the present book because of the additional detail they contain. Every book written by Dr. Henry maintains the high standard that would be required of any peer-reviewed publication, including hundreds of references to support the text. While the present book is targeted to audiologists, the content would be of interest to all professionals and consumers who desire to learn more about tinnitus. Dr. Henry’s website is www.earsgonewrong.org
About Plural Publishing, Inc.
Plural Publishing produces leading academic, scientific, and clinical publications in the fields of speech-language pathology, audiology, otolaryngology, and professional singing. Plural Publishing, Inc. aims to fill a space in the field of communication sciences and disorders with high-quality publications written by world-class experts in order to improve and enhance the knowledge base of each profession, from the classroom to clinical practice. Plural Publishing prioritizes the intellectual growth of the disciplines it serves and strives to improve and advance these fields through its publications.
