Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a sensation of hearing a sound in your head or ears when there is no external sound. Different people may hear different sounds like ringing, buzzing, squeaking, crackling, humming, or even music. These sounds can be continuous or they can come and go.
What We Can Do
Our tinnitus consultations start from just £200
Patients often tell us that they’ve been told or they believe nothing can be done to help them with their tinnitus – this simply isn’t true, there is plenty we can do to help with tinnitus.
Every person’s experience of tinnitus is different and so it’s important to us that we treat each person as an individual to come up with a bespoke care plan.
For some, we may need to medically refer you should we have concerns that need looking at by an ENT consultant. For others, we may need to focus on how to work towards a journey where (if your tinnitus is constant) you don’t notice it very often, and if you do notice it, it doesn’t upset you.
Did you know that roughly 30% of the world’s population will experience tinnitus in their lifetime and 13% will have persistent tinnitus? With these kinds of figures, you’d think people would do more about it. But the reality is most people experiencing tinnitus will distract themselves from it without needing treatment, while only 20% of people will seek professional help.
You are not alone, it can affect people with ‘normal’ hearing and we are here to help and support you.
Coping with tinnitus is a journey, and all journeys begin with a plan. That’s why we start with thorough investigations of your ears to see if there could be something else as the cause of your tinnitus.
We’ll start with a thorough review of your medical history (you’d be amazed at all the relevant information we can uncover) before checking your ears. We’ll check the health of your ears and ear canal, along with performing a diagnostic hearing test and any other necessary tests. Finally, we’ll perform specialist tinnitus and well-being questionnaires to ensure we have all bases covered and discuss a strategy for coping with tinnitus.
Following our investigations, we’ll develop a bespoke care plan for your personal experience of tinnitus. As no two ears are the same, it’s hard to detail exactly what this care plan may include, but it could be any of the following:
- Prescription of hearing aids either through the NHS or with us privately
- Referral to ENT at hospital if we need to rule out something medical – this can be done through the NHS or privately.
- We may need to develop a care plan for you that has a combination of therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, sound therapy, relaxation therapy, anchoring techniques, just to name but a few. We may be able to offer you an app-based programme to utilise at home at your leisure (but facilitated by us) or we may refer you to one of our hearing therapists.
There may be other options we need to look at. Remember, everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for another. But one thing that’s true is that there isn’t a magic pill and whatever therapeutic pathway we look at, it may take time. You must be motivated and receptive to therapies to see positive outcomes.
Heard the saying ‘so quiet you could hear a pin drop’? That’s because your brain doesn’t have the distraction of natural sounds, meaning your focus and attention is fixed on any sound that occurs. The same can be said for tinnitus and hearing loss. If you have hearing loss, your world is quieter and the sound of tinnitus can be at the forefront of your mind. To combat this, we may prescribe hearing aids either privately or through the NHS, to amplify the sounds around you, distracting your brain and allowing you to pay less attention to your tinnitus.
There are also other reasons for why this may be helpful but we would talk about this together in the clinic.
As we said before, what works for one person may not work for everyone! Some people find education counselling helpful to reduce the distress around their tinnitus. It can help you understand your tinnitus and give you some hope and help.
Want to get some stuff off your chest? For others, talking therapies can help as they can lower the stress caused by tinnitus. The calmer you are, the less likely your tinnitus will get under your skin.
Absolutely! Therapy is a great thing and it can help in all walks of life, but it can also help with your tinnitus. And with a range of options available, we have therapy options to suit all budgets.
There is a type of talking therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This is an approach that helps you to change the way you think. We can provide this through our therapists privately, refer you to the NHS, or provide you with specialist apps that you can use at your leisure. It’s just whatever works for you and fits into your way of life.
Sound therapies can also be very helpful – we will provide you with access to a wealth of relaxing sounds (some can be tailor-made to you) to relax and distract you from your tinnitus. We’ll teach you how to use them properly.
Feeling stressed? Relaxation therapy can also help to reduce the stress of your tinnitus. We can explore this in more detail in the clinic and provide you with relaxation therapy in the clinic, or if you prefer, we can give you tools to use at home.
Missing out on sleep? Some people find that their tinnitus affects their ability to get a good night’s sleep. We can work together to help you get to sleep more easily.
Depending on your needs and what we think will work best for you, we may suggest Tinnitus Retraining Therapy. A programme that focuses on retraining your brain and focus, pushing the tinnitus away from the forefront of your mind and focusing on getting your life back.
Unfortunately, we can’t cure tinnitus, but we can help you to treat it. Not all tinnitus is permanent but if you do have long-standing tinnitus, we can help you notice the sounds a little less and therefore help you to feel better about it. You need to remember that it simply isn’t true that nothing can be done to help you – there are lots of things available to help you and no matter your budget, we will guide you in the right direction.