Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

What is tinnitus?

The term 'tinnitus' comes from the Latin word 'tinnire' (to ring) and is defined as the perception of sounds for which there is no external source. Many people describe it as ringing, while to others it sounds like humming, buzzing or whistling. But they all agree that it is never comfortable. Regardless of its characteristics, tinnitus is a symptom of an impairment of the auditory processing system.

Approximately 25% of the population of industrialized countries have experienced tinnitus at least once, 10 to 20% suffer chronically. While there is no definite cure yet for tinnitus, there are effective methods of achieving comfort and relief.

What causes tinnitus?

Despite intensive research, clear triggers for subjective tinnitus have been seldom identified. In most cases, the cause is unclear and often none can be detected. What we do know is that normally about 30% of external sounds are consciously perceived, while the rest are unconsciously faded out.

When this filtering function is intact, it is able to "ignore" subjective sounds. But when it is damaged, undesired signals can be excessively amplified. If hearing is intensively stimulated over a long period of time, it can result in the sensory perception remaining even though the triggering factor is long gone. This is why it is important to distract the individual’s attention away from the tinnitus in order to prevent a chronic manifestation.

Tinnitus and hearing loss

Research shows that more than 50% of people affected by tinnitus also have an inner ear hearing impairment.

In these cases, treatment with hearing instruments is often the first step to relief from suffering. They compensate the hearing loss, thus enabling concentration on external sounds, instead of the internal noises. If the tinnitus cannot be controlled with a hearing instrument, the solution is a combined hearing instrument and noiser. An added advantage of these devices is that they can be used as a standard hearing instrument if the tinnitus fades or disappears.

Effective relief

The distraction approach is the basis of tinnitus instruments such as noisers or maskers. They help the hearing system concentrate on external sounds by replacing the negative auditory impressions with positive ones. These are often used in tinnitus retraining therapies.

Since the complete masking (acoustic concealment) of tinnitus would require at least the same volume as the tinnitus sound, it could become uncomfortable in the long run. Modern noisers produce a comfortable sounds that can be individually selected by the patient. This sound has to be quieter than the tinnitus, so that the brain can be trained to concentrate on outer sounds again and thereby to discontinue the fixation to the inner sound.

Latest Tinnitus Research

While the mechanisms that produce tinnitus are not fully understood there is intense worldwide research into it; notably by the Tinnitus Research Initiative at the University of Regensburg in Germany. Click HERE to read the latest newsletter from TRI.