Do you suffer from Tinnitus
It’s thought that around 10% of adults in the UK (that’s six million people) have mild tinnitus, while about 600,000 have tinnitus that affects their quality of life. Treating tinnitus is one of the core services offered by The Hearing Clinic, but what exactly is it?
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the term for hearing sounds that come from inside your body, rather than from an outside source. For some people it manifests as a ringing in the ears, for others it can be a buzzing or humming, roaring or clicking sound. Some people can easily live with their tinnitus. But for others, tinnitus can interfere with concentration or hearing clearly. It can affect sleep and a person’s ability to relax and can even lead to depression.
Treating tinnitus
Tinnitus can occur at any age, but is more common in people over 65. While there is currently no cure for tinnitus, there is a lot you can do to take back control and become calm, focused and relaxed again. At The Hearing Clinic, we tackle tinnitus on two fronts – technically and emotionally. We take a three-step approach to helping clients to tame their tinnitus and to alter their response to the condition.
- Empowering you to take control
Much of tinnitus management involves learning more about, and understanding, how the condition affects you so we can help you to manage the stress it causes. This involves exploring how you think about, relate to, and understand the condition. We’re trained in Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and have received training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) skills for audiologists. These approaches can be very effective in stress reduction.
- Correcting any hearing loss
Even a mild hearing loss can trigger tinnitus. When hearing loss is corrected with hearing aids – and normal sound levels are restored to your brain – the tinnitus often recedes to a much quieter level. It may even disappear. The quicker hearing technology can be fitted after you develop tinnitus, the more likely you’ll be to experience a significant reduction in the condition.
- Using sound enrichment or sound therapy
We use the latest hearing technology which wirelessly streams relaxing sounds into the ears, masking the tinnitus and allowing you to feel calm and in control.
What our clients say…
“When I went to see Bridgitte, I had been suffering from tinnitus for the majority of my life and after seeing multiple audiologists and doctors, I was starting to lose hope. Within 10 minutes of our first appointment, I was feeling comfortable and as the session went on, I started to understand my tinnitus and how the auditory system works. By the end of the session, I felt as if I had a second wind in life and I could deal with tinnitus. My life has changed for the better, I have learnt so much and I owe it all to Bridgitte.” Ben
