Tinnitus sound therapy is an innovative, personalised and effective way to manage the often debilitating symptoms of tinnitus. Rather than masking the noises generated within your ears or trying to distract you, sound therapy filters out the noise, using dynamic treatments that alter how your brain perceives the sounds.
The science behind this modern therapy is connected to habituation, which works significantly better and has longer-term results than masking – playing louder or continuous sounds like white noise that only cover up or drown out the tinnitus.
Instead, sound therapy works continually, not only when you’re playing those background noises. Our incredible audiology experts have recorded immediate Tinnitus improvements in all clients after one session, with some reporting much-needed total relief from their symptoms.
Key Takeaways
- Tinnitus sound therapy is a modern and personalised treatment designed to manage tinnitus by filtering out noise and retraining the brain to perceive sounds differently. This method is more effective and provides longer-lasting results compared to traditional masking techniques.
- The therapy involves a thorough audiological examination to identify the specific frequencies, tones, and sounds of an individual’s tinnitus. This personalised approach ensures that the sound therapy is highly effective from the first session, with many patients experiencing immediate relief.
- Accessing sound therapy starts with a comprehensive hearing assessment at a Regain Hearing clinic to identify any underlying causes of tinnitus. The therapy, which should be administered by a qualified audiologist, conditions the brain to disregard tinnitus sounds rather than just masking them, offering a more permanent solution to the symptoms.
What Is Tinnitus Sound Therapy?
Tinnitus has been around for generations and affects as many as 7.6 million people across the UK, according to Tinnitus UK. Treatments and interventions like sound enrichment or sound therapy have equally been used for some time, albeit in a generalised way that is often minimally effective.
Regain Hearing’s tinnitus specialist, Lee Fletcher, RHAD and BSHAA, has spent over a decade developing a targeted treatment that goes above and beyond the average impacts of sound therapy.
“This therapy doesn’t just distract you or help you ignore the tinnitus sounds but means the patient ceases to have any noticeable impact whatsoever—this is the habituation process we mentioned.”
The key is to ensure sound therapy is adapted to the individual and directly correlates with the pitch, tone, frequency, and intensity of the noises created by their tinnitus in either one or both ears.
How to get rid of tinnitus with tinnitus sound therapy?
In the past, medical professionals often suggested counselling and behavioural therapies like CBT to combat the negative effects tinnitus has on everyday interactions, such as watching TV, conversing with family members and colleagues, or being able to answer a call on the phone.
Carefully adjusted sound therapy targets the exact noises associated with your tinnitus. We follow an in-depth audiological examination and testing process that helps us map out what tinnitus sounds like to you, ensuring we can match that precisely and ensure your sound therapy is as effective as possible from your first appointment.
Understanding the Tinnitus Sound Therapy Treatment Process
Everybody experiences tinnitus differently, which is why so many conventional treatments work reasonably well for some people and have zero effect on others. The first priority is identifying the specific frequencies, tones and sounds your tinnitus produces.
That’s because sound therapy is only successful when it teaches your brain to recategorise or neutralise sounds—to the extent that you cannot hear tinnitus anymore.
This works remarkably fast for some clients, and their tinnitus is drastically reduced or barely noticeable after one session. Others find that initially, the noise decreases and then continues to fade during each subsequent treatment.
While the science behind this is complex, the concept is straightforward: a sound that persists without an easily identifiable source is a nuisance that our brains keep picking up on, to the detriment of things we want to hear, such as music.
Classifying tinnitus as a neutral sound no longer stimulates any response in our brains, in the same way that people who wear glasses cannot feel them resting on the bridge of their nose.
How to Access Sound Therapy to Get Rid of Tinnitus
Step one is to contact your nearest Regain Hearing clinic. We have nine locations throughout London and Kent, all providing private, high-quality services to our valued clients. Each location page has exact opening times, information about how to find us, and guidance about parking.
We always begin with a comprehensive hearing assessment since there may be underlying causes or issues that are responsible for or exacerbating your tinnitus. For example:
- Ear wax build-up and other obstructions or blockages can amplify tinnitus or cause muffling that can potentially be mistaken for it.
- Infections or injuries within your ear may contribute to the severity of tinnitus.
- Trauma to the head or neck or issues with your sinuses that create a build-up of pressure may cause tinnitus and hearing loss.
- Conditions like Meniere’s disease can lead to challenges with hearing, balance, pressure in the ear, or fluid build-ups that can be relieved by a professional audiologist.
Resolving these problems can help soothe the impact of tinnitus and enhance the long-term effects of sound therapy. We’ll then talk to you about your tinnitus and other signs of hearing loss, discuss how this is impacting your quality of life, advise on treatments and therapies, and discuss the suitability of sound therapy for you.
During the assessment process, we use a range of evaluations, including pure tone audiometry, tinnitus matching, and speech discrimination—all of which are painless, comfortable tests that help us develop a bespoke treatment plan.
Once we’ve logged the frequencies and sounds you can and cannot hear and recorded the pitch and level of your tinnitus, we’ll be ready to discuss our recommended treatment approach and help you achieve fast relief.
Is Tinnitus Sound Therapy Appropriate for Everyone?
There are very few scenarios in which sound therapy is not expected to work or where the results are likely to be less effective. If you have tinnitus, or suspected tinnitus, and have ongoing or intrusive sounds of ringing or buzzing within your ears, sound therapy is incredibly likely to have a positive impact.
Of course, if you have a medical condition or other hearing-related problem that is linked to your tinnitus, our skilled audiologists can factor this into your treatment plan and suggest the resolutions that will work alongside sound therapy to restore your hearing and eliminate your symptoms once and for all.
Importantly, sound therapy should be delivered by a qualified, professional audiologist rather than relying on sound therapy apps or DIY treatments. While they have occasional benefits, less-tailored therapies are known to be very limited in terms of achievable results.
Sound therapy that is adjusted to your specific symptoms is ideal since it can effectively condition your brain to disregard the sounds of tinnitus rather than attempting to mask them or teach you to try and ignore them.
For further information about the groundbreaking tinnitus treatment services available from Regain Hearing, you are welcome to contact your nearest clinic or book a consultation through our quick online form.
