Tinnitus

Understanding Tinnitus

If you’re experiencing persistent buzzing, whistling or ringing in your ears, we understand how frustrating and debilitating it can be. It’s a condition that affects millions of people worldwide, but relief is available.

Tinnitus is the presence of an aural sensation in the ears, such as a sound, but whose source is not external to the ears. Put another way – hearing a sound in the ear in the absence of a sound source outside of the ear. Tinnitus is not a condition in and of itself but a symptom usually as a result of an underlying condition such as age-related hearing loss. Tinnitus manifests itself differently for different people, some may describe it as a buzzing noise, or a “whooshing sound” or a ringing or even a buzzing sound among others.

Ferguson’s clinical audiologists have helped patients overcome and alleviate the symptoms caused by tinnitus, through accurate diagnosis and effective tinnitus treatment therapy.

We carry out a complete hearing assessment including Puretone Audiometry, Tympanometry, Acoustic Reflexes, Otoacoustic Emissions and Speech Discrimination. Specifically for tinnitus assessment we conduct an interview using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI) to grade the severity of the patient’s tinnitus. Based on your evaluation we will implement the prescribed treatment plan. Management may include the use of hearing aid amplification, sound therapy and /or behavioral modification therapy.

The severity of your tinnitus depends largely on how much attention you pay to the unwanted sound. When tinnitus prompts negative feelings, it can cause a reaction that makes you pay more attention to it, and a vicious cycle begins. The aim of tinnitus therapy is to break this vicious cycle

Our Approach

Assessment and Medical Clearance

Tinnitus can be associated with ear and other anatomical disease, it is important that we determine what the underlying cause of your problem is. In most cases tinnitus is caused by an underlying hearing loss. Sometimes however it can be caused by other problems that are not appropriate for treatment in the audiology setting. If we find that your case is not suitable for treatment we would refer you to an ENT Specialist to rule out any health-related conditions that could be the cause of your tinnitus or could be treated through medical and/or surgical intervention.

Evaluation and Treatment Options

We understand that your hearing journey is unique. That’s why we offer comprehensive clinical hearing services delivered by a team of Qualified Expert Audiologists who genuinely care about your well-being.

Our experience of helping Patients with tinnitus has allowed us to develop a variety of approaches that can provide relief for the majority of people with tinnitus. The following is the process for evaluation and treatment:

Treatment Of An Underlying Hearing Loss

There are many options for treatment with tinnitus dependent on the severity and the underlying cause. In many cases, correction of a hearing loss with a well fitted hearing aid system will eliminate the tinnitus symptoms. In the cases where this isn't enough we also prescribe sound therapy. Many modern hearing aid devices are combination devices giving amplification and sound therapy.

Sound therapy Treatment

In Cases where there is no hearing loss is or it is not severe enough for treatment. We would prescribe sound therapy devices. Sound therapy has proven to be an effective management tool for many people who suffer from tinnitus that isn't associated with underlying hearing loss.