Managing tinnitus

A Deafness Research UK study has shown that millions of patients suffering from tinnitus are being badly let down by the NHS. The research shows a disturbing lack of knowledge of the treatments that are available for this common and distressing condition.

As a result of these findings, Deafness Research UK is campaigning to educate tinnitus sufferers and health professionals about the treatment options available.

As part of the campaign, we've produced a new tinnitus information pack, based on the most up-to-date research. It is designed to help people manage their tinnitus by giving them a better understanding of the condition and the various treatment options.

The pack is available from the Deafness Research UK Information Service:

• telephone: 020 7679 8970
• email: info@deafnessresearch.org.uk
• write to: Deafness Research UK, PO Box 49740, London, WC1X 8WU

Over four million people in the UK are affected by the noises in the head or ear known as tinnitus. The noises can vary in intensity from a low hum to noise levels equivalent to a jet engine and, not surprisingly, they often cause anxiety, lack of sleep and depression.

The new research shows that over three quarters (76%) of people who sought help from the NHS for their tinnitus had not received any of the generally accepted treatments. Almost a third were not even referred to a consultant by their GP.

Those GPs who were unwilling to refer their patients to a specialist also tended to be unsympathetic about their symptoms. Although guidelines issued to GPs emphasise that making negative remarks about tinnitus can actually worsen patients' symptoms, the research found that over half of these people were told, "there is no cure, you’ll have to live with it".

Recognised treatments for tinnitus are sound generators, which produce a competing sound to help mask the tinnitus and psychological therapies based on retraining the brain to ignore the tinnitus noises.

However, the Deafness Research UK study showed that, even amongst those who managed to obtain a referral to a specialist, most failed to obtain treatment with only 12% being offered a masker and a mere 2.5% receiving psychological therapies.

Although tinnitus is often experienced in conjunction with a hearing loss and a hearing aid can help to reduce the perceived level of tinnitus as well as improving a person's hearing, only 23% were given a hearing aid by their specialist.