| Tinnitus
(ringing in the ears) is a
common problem, affecting about 17% of the general population around
the
world (44 million people in the USA). It causes significant suffering
in
about 4% of the general population (10 million in the USA). Typically
patients are told "to learn to live with it." The development of
a neurophysiological model of tinnitus
(Jastreboff, P.J. Phantom auditory perception (tinnitus): mechanisms
of generation and perception. Neurosci.Res.:221-254, 1990) and based on
it a new clinical approach have created a totally new treatment for
tinnitus
that results in significant improvement for more that 80% of the
patients
treated at our center (Jastreboff, P.J., Gray, W.C., Gold, S.L.
Neurophysiological
approach to tinnitus patients. Am.J.Otology, 17:236-240, 1996). This
method, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT),
uses
a combination of low level, broad-band noise and counseling to
achieve the habituation of tinnitus, that is the patient is no longer
aware of their tinnitus, except when they focus their attention on it,
and
even then tinnitus is not annoying or bothersome.
Tinnitus is accompanied
by hyperacusis
in about 40% of the cases. Hyperacusis is a
decreased tolerance of sound and can be a serious problem. Some
patients
experience hyperacusis without tinnitus. Tinnitus
Retraining Therapy can restore totally or partially the normal level of
sensitivity to sound.
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