Tinnitus Slide Show - Clinical Perspective

Research has revealed a lot of new information in the past twenty years.

This slide show gives you an outline of the types of Tinnitus and various treatments that have been studied in clinical research situations.

My experience is not included within the content of the slide show. I share it here to fill in some of the knowledge gaps that I wish I had filled in many years ago.

Maybe you will discover something helpful here too.

Tinnitus

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Tinnitus Centers and Clinics

If you have serious tinnitus and it is interfering with your work and life you may find relief from one of several specialized clinics that work with tinnitus all the time.

There are 3 that I know from personal contact and experience.

• The Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Center in Georgia which heralds the now well known Jastreboff method of retraining the leading and at times controversial neurophysiological approach. I described my ear situation in a phone interview with Dr. Pawel Jastreboff a few years ago. While 80% of their clients indicate significant improvement, that is surely affected by the screening process for their treatment. We decided that my tinnitus would not be likely to respond well to their program. I explained that I had been coping independently for decades as my tinnitus worsened. I sought relief not more coping advice, which I could readily give out if anyone ever asked.

• One in Oregon - The Oregon Hearing Research Center has a focus on TRT- Tinnitus Retraining Therapy and management. They specialize in therapies derived from the Jastreboff approach.

• The Shea Clinic in Memphis Tennesee where I finally found relief in 2008. Since 1926 the Shea family and staff have specialized in ear, nose and throat disorders. Often their work was pioneering and inventive and controversial. Since they treat tinnitus to provide relief for the patients rather than focus on research for a cure their entire approach is different.

The Shea Clinic pioneered surgical intervention and inner ear perfusion more than twenty years ago and has had excellent results with thousands of patients using their procedures.
Keep in mind this is the only clinic on this list that does employ surgical methods, that I know of. It will require you to stay overnight nearby and return for follow up care the following day. Unless they have made changes in the process since my visit.

In recent years there has been considerably more research and many more treatment centers for tinnitus and other hearing and balance disorders and conditions.

• One in Denver Colorado that leads the way with the new Neuromonics approach and Lyric hearing devices. Neuromonics in short refers to a treatment that delivers sounds to the patient to match the sounds perceived internally, in effect a highly sophisticated and personalized masking device.

• The Silverstein Institute in Florida with its emphasis on Meniere's Disease has a strong emphasis on research since 1979 and a strong focus on retraining whether via neuromonics or other therapies. Generally treating tinnitus as a symptom and teaching people how to cope with it.

• A few in California which also focus on re-training and habituation. In other words helping the patient get accustomed to the sounds. Often tinnitus is referred to as a symptom rather than a condition.

Each one takes a different approach to evaluating and then treating tinnitus patients. All of them are viable professional centers.

You have heard the saying "different strokes for different folks"
and here that is most certainly true.