Tinnitus Treatment Program

The Tinnitus Clinic provides a full range of diagnostic and treatment services for adult patients with a tinnitus disorder. The clinic provides a highly versatile and experienced resource for patients who experience significant problems with tinnitus and have exhausted other forms of treatment.

Although 50 million Americans experience "ringing" sounds in their ears to come degree, 12 to 15 million of them suffer tinnitus severely enough to seek medical attention. Ten percent of these sufferers are so seriouly debilitated that they cannot function normally. Virtually all patients who have been seen at the UVa Tinnitus Clinic have benefited from its therapy. The following services are provided:

 

Multidisciplinary Approach to Treatment

The first step is a full examination by a trained ear specialist , who will provide testing with state-of-the-art equipment to find out what is going on in the ear and the brain to produce the tinnitus sound. UVa's Tinnitus Clinic, one of only 40 centers in the country that offers tinnitus retraining therapy, has the full back-up resources of the UVa Medical Center and can call upon the expertise of such specialists as otolaryngologistis, audiologists, physiologists and neuroscientists.

 

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

Roger Ruth, PhD, professional director of the UVa Tinnitus Clinic, is one of about 100 professionals nationwide who have trrained with Dr. Pawel Jastreboff, the world famous neurophysiologist who developed habituation therapy for tinnitus and hyperacusis. Jastreboff's therapy uses a neurophysiological model of tinnitus that incorporates the entire auditory system and the brain. The therapy retrains the subconscious part of the brain to ignore, or habituate to, the threatening sounds, so that there is no longer a conscious awareness of the offending tinnitus.

 

Noise Generator Fitting

Some patients are prescribed a noise generator, which is fitted into both ears and produces a soothing "white noise." Smaller than a hearing aid, the generator is worn for eight or more hours a day for up to two years as part of the tinnitus retraining therapy. Unlike maskers, which use white noise to try to make the tinnitus inaudible, the noise generator is used at a low level to bring about changes in the brain's subconscious hearing system, conditioning it to ignore the tinnitus sound.

 

Patient Counseling and Education

Many patients have misconceptions and anxieties about tinnitus that tend to produce unwanted psychological and physiological reactions. Because tinnitus is a "phantom" sound with no external source, treatment requires significant amount of counseling and education. This enables the patient to understand and become receptive to various treatments, speeding his or her recovery. The goal of retraining therapy is to habituate, or remove, the emotional response and the perception of tinnitus itself, so that it is no longer heard.

 

Treatment for Hyperacusis and Phonophobia

Hyperacusis, an intolerance of "loud" sounds, and phonophobia, a fear of certain sounds, are found in up to one-half of patients with tinnitus. Extreme fear associated with tinnitus results in a phobia state, similar to the fear of spiders, flying or small spaces. Tinnitus retraining is similar to the techniques used for these other phobias: confronting the feared object, learning first to tolerate it and then to accept it as normaal and nonthreatening.

 

Information and Appointments

For more information about the Tinnitus Clinic or to make an appointment, please contact the Division of Audiology at (434) 982-0129.