OHSU in Portland, OR - Worth the Trip?

[Tee]

Hi guys,

I've been reading this forum a bunch over the past 2 weeks...what a wealth of information!

I read someone talking about OHSU in Portland, Oregon. I've left them a voicemail and just followed up with an email about accessing their services (and if they take Canadian patients). Haven't heard back from them yet, but I was wondering:

How many of you have gone there? Is it worth the trip? (about a 13-14 hour drive for me). It sounds like Erik has been there? I assume it's a few thousand $ for their services?

Thanks,
Tee

 

[J. Wing]

Have not been to OHSU but have had tinnitus for 13 years now. Have been to a tinnitus clinic and at least 7 ENT's in those years. In my opinion(This is MY opinion!)I did not learn much of anything. For me tinnitus forums and the book "Tinnitus Questions and Answers" by Jack Vernon and Barbara Tabachnick Sanders was the biggest help. When I first came down with tinnitus I heard about the $5000 therapy's(take your pick)but the problem was there was no clear choice if they worked or not. 13 years later it's still the same story. I hope this helps.

 

[Markku]

I have no first-hand experience of the OHSU Tinnitus Clinic.

One famous tinnitus clinic is in Belgium, and you can read daedalus' experience about it on this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/brai2n-tinnitus-clinic-in-belgium.7/

I would think tinnitus clinics do at least some of the same stuff worldwide?

OHSU has pretty good descriptions of what they offer here.

From what I can gather it seems Brai2n is more based on treatments like drug therapies, neuromodulation, etc. OHSU seems to be more of an outlet for Tinnitus Retraining Therapy with additional services alongside with that. Maybe I missed something and am totally wrong - anybody is more than welcome to correct me!

If erik went to OHSU, maybe he can give further advice/info once he logs in again.

 

[Grant1]

I have no first-hand experience of the OHSU Tinnitus Clinic.

One famous tinnitus clinic is in Belgium, and you can read daedalus' experience about it on this thread: https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/brai2n-tinnitus-clinic-in-belgium.7/

I would think tinnitus clinics do at least some of the same stuff worldwide?

OHSU has pretty good descriptions of what they offer here.

From what I can gather it seems Brai2n is more based on treatments like drug therapies, neuromodulation, etc. OHSU seems to be more of an outlet for Tinnitus Retraining Therapy with additional services alongside with that. Maybe I missed something and am totally wrong - anybody is more than welcome to correct me!

If erik went to OHSU, maybe he can give further advice/info once he logs in again.

I visited the clinic at the University of Antwerp's Hospital (UZA) last year.

I would not be comfortable at this time (maybe some other time) writing a lot of details about myself. However, I can certainly say they are on the cutting edge of treating tinnitus through neuromodulation techniquest at UZA.

Interestingly, I met a patient with whom I have corresponded a few times who was helped by the neurofeedback at UZA. He had tried pharmaceuticals and the various neuromodulation techniques, but the only treatment that helped has truly helped him is neurofeedback. I am unsure, however, where one can utilize neurofeedback for tinnitus outside of UZA.

I enjoy your posts Markku and will post my more about my experience at UZA as I can.

 

[erik]

Hi Tee

Yes I have been there, last July. Was a 6 hour drive for me.

Cost was about $1300 if I remember correctly, (not including white noise generators if you need them those are another $600 a piece). That is for physical exam, hearing exam and basic TRT. If you need assistance, they have grants that can pay some, most or all of the fee depending on your income (based on a sliding scale).

Takes about 4 hours in basically 3 parts. First you meet with the Ontaryngologist,Dr Shi, great guy, very attentive and listens to your every whim, whom goes over your history, determines if you have other issues like anxiety or depression (he can prescribe you meds if you do, they prefer Xanax), and gives you a thorough health/hearing exam. Then you meet with audiologist who gives you a a detailed hearing exam. They test your hearing and try to match your tinnitus frequency pitch and determine what type of masking you need for your particular tinnitus.

The final part is going over basic TRT, learning that T will not harm you and you can learn strategies to help you cope. They have some demo products you can test out like sound pillows and wearable white noise generators.

Was it worth it? I am mixed on that. It was a great facility, the OHSU campus is really cool. The staff was extremely helpful and attentive. I think if you are brand new to T, know next to nothing about it, needed an evaluation, hearing test, and options for dealing with T, then yes it is worth it. However, for me, I had all that done previously and I had researched so much on T, I already knew 95% of what they told me. But then again, it was nice to have more confirmation for the experts that I didn't have anything seriously wrong up there, just some noise in my head.

Portland, Oregon is a pretty fantastic city so the wife and I made a mini-getaway out of it. I was still suffering frequent panic and anxiety at the time but getting away really helped and we had a good time.

If you have any other questions, let me know. Hope this helps.

Erik

 

[erik]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that that after the initial visit and cost, you get email, phone support and additional clinic visits if needed for 6 months as part of the price which is great. They also send you a comprehensive and detail report of your visit a few days later. If you continue to have problems with your T they encourage you to contact the clinic for additional help.

 

[Tee]

Thanks all for your replies, much appreciated. Might not be worth the trip for me as I can access likely most of the same services here in Calgary, including TRT. I plan to ask the audiologist how much experience she has in it tho (she has her PhD which is encouraging), and what success rate she has seen in her patients.
Awaiting a call from the ENT doc's office to set up an initial appt, but I don't have too many hopes for a positive outcome, besides him saying, yup, you have tinnitus! I've been told he has tinnitus too, which may make him a bit more helpful?