Tinnitus

Tinnitus Diagnostic Services

Tinnitus is a word used to describe sounds heard in the ears or the head that have no external source. It is sometimes known as 'the sound of silence' because nearly everyone will hear some tinnitus if they are in a completely sound proof room with no external sound. For most of us this 'sound of silence' is masked by everyday environmental sounds and even in quiet settings we do not notice this sound because it has no threats, worries or distress associated with it so our brains do not draw our attention to it. However, if a conditioned response (reaction) is set up to the sound then that reaction creates distress which our brain associates with the sound and our brain draws our attention to the tinnitus. Ten percent of adults have experienced some tinnitus for longer than five minutes.

If you have tinnitus you will first be referred by your GP for an ENT consultation. Your consultant will then request diagnostic testing and may recommend tinnitus retraining therapy.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)

To successfully manage tinnitus, our audiological scientist provides Tinnitus Retraining Therapy at the Centre to help those experiencing tinnitus reduce the distress associated with the tinnitus and retrain the strength of their reaction to the tinnitus. For more information about tinnitus and TRT see the website www.tinnitus.org .