There is presently no known cure for chronic tinnitus; however, there are very well-established tools and treatments that can significantly reduce the perceived burden of tinnitus. With perseverance and support from trained healthcare professionals, these options can help tinnitus patients—even those with severe cases of the condition.
Tinnitus Treatment Goals
- Decrease tinnitus awareness and or annoyance
- Increase sense of control
- Improve ability to concentrate regardless of tinnitus
- Improve ability to fall and stay asleep
- Hearing speech more clearly
- Decrease anxiety and stress levels
- Improve quality of life
Potential Tinnitus Triggers or Exacerbating Factors
In addition to medications, it is important to also understand the factors that may be triggering or worsening your perceived tinnitus. If any of these listed factors are prevalent in your life, you may consider minimizing or eliminating the factor, if possible, and observing if this results in a positive improvement in your tinnitus.
For the majority of individuals with tinnitus, silent or quiet environments cause the tinnitus to be more prevalent and more bothersome. For this reason, it is often helpful to have some sort of background noise (fan, music, sound generator, ear level masker) available to allow your brain to focus less on the bothersome tinnitus.