OVERVIEW OF CURRENT TINNITUS THERAPIES
Chronic tinnitus cannot simply be “switched off”. However, those affected can learn to reevaluate it. They then no longer perceive it so intensely and the negative, tinnitus-related thoughts and feelings decrease. The most important pillar of any therapy is individual counseling and psychoeducational education (counseling). Patients can take advantage of this offer during the entire therapy period. They are shown what causes, circumstances and interconnections lead to tinnitus and, if applicable, its amplification. Only with this understanding and knowledge can they re-evaluate their own situation, reduce fears, reduce the pressure of suffering – and thus lay the foundation for further action.
Tinnitus treatment does not promise a cure. However, it can help to significantly improve the quality of life of patients. One success factor is that those affected are no longer passive sufferers, but can actively contribute to their own recovery or health improvement. But what sounds so simple requires not only great commitment, but above all a great deal of insight and even more patience: Usually, tinnitus therapy lasts twelve to 24 months. In any case, success is a team effort in which physicians, psychologists, physiotherapists, orthopedists, neurologists and hearing aid acousticians work together in an interdisciplinary manner – always actively supported by the patient himself. The goal is to get used to the tinnitus (habituation) and to control it in everyday life. Fortunately, this displacement from consciousness works regardless of the possible cause.
In the following, we present some therapies that have been classified as effective treatments for tinnitus according to the S3 Guideline Chronic Tinnitus, published by the German Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, September 2021. Guideline coordination in 2019 was the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Birgit Mazurek, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, and Prof. Dr. Gerhard Hesse, member of the Scientific Advisory Board.
