Hello New Friends... What Might Lie Ahead on This New Tinnitus Journey?

[Michael Leigh]

What do you expect from a ENT, other then hearing aids if you need them?

Do you realize how many people make useless ENT appointments just to get told the same thing?

You make a valid point @Contrast

ENT doctors are physicians and have an important role to play when a person with tinnitus comes to them for help. I want to make a few things clear. ENT doctors are not tinnitus experts as some people believe. They are highly qualified clinicians that know how to treat medical problems associated with the: Ear, Nose and Throat. It is right that a person with tinnitus is first seen by an ENT doctor, so tests can be carried out on the auditory system to try and determine what is causing the tinnitus. As you know tinnitus can be caused by many things.

After tests have been carried out, if no underlying medical problem can be found causing the tinnitus as is "noise induced," the patient should be referred to "Audiology" to see a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist; this is what happens in the UK. These health professionals treat patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis . A variety of treatment options are available depending on the hospital one attends. This can include: TRT, CBT, counselling, sound therapy, white noise generators, Mindfullness, relaxation classes etc. Some people with tinnitus also have hearing loss. The Hearing Therapist/Audiologist will be able to address this too by supplying hearing aids.

An ENT doctor can prescribe medication to help with tinnitus.

Michael

 

[GregCA]

Secondly, if you use headphones of any type I advise you to stop using them even at low volume. Anyone that has noise induced tinnitus as you do, risks making the tinnitus worse using headphones. The evidence of this is overwhelming. There are many posts in this forum written by people that returned to using headphones at low volume, after they have habituated and regretted it.

As luck would have it, we do have a poll on the forum about headphone usage: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...phones-has-it-made-your-tinnitus-worse.35243/

 

[GregCA]

I would argue that forum posts on a single online community concerning a symptom affecting approximately >10% people in most developed countries does not constitute "overwhelming" evidence.

I've never seen that "overwhelming" evidence on this forum actually, in the past 3+ years I've been here.

 

[Fifth Business]

I have Bose QC15 (Noise cancelling) for "everyday listening" and ATH-50 for drumming.

A drummer? Gonna have to pick your brain sometime!