During your first appointment, we will perform a variety of tests providing us with important information about your hearing and ringing in the ears/tinnitus/hyperacusis.
If you have had recent audiological testing, please bring these results with you. You may also be scheduled for a CT scan or MRI, which is done by referral. This extensive testing allows us to formulate a treatment plan specifically for you.
Your first appointment will be a counseling session. At that time we will provide you with more detailed information about tinnitus and/or hyperacusis, answer your concerns and questions, discuss the various treatment options and propose a treatment plan. Your individualized treatment plan may include one or more of the following:
- Specialized Hearing Instruments.
- Noise generating devices
- One-on-one counseling
Your treatment plan will depend on the results of your evaluation and will be fully explained to you. On your next appointment, we establish an individualized treatment plan to be implemented. If hearing aids are a part of your treatment plan, they will be fit at this appointment. Your hearing instrument specialist will explain their use, along with how to care for them and will take as much time as necessary to help you adjust to them.
Commitment and Continuity of Care
Many patients begin to experience a reduction in tinnitus symptoms within eight months of the start of treatment. Depending on a variety of factors, including the patient’s commitment to the treatment program recommended by the hearing instrument specialist, a significant reduction in symptoms can take anywhere from eight months to two years.
Periodic counseling sessions and follow-up visits are included as part of each individual’s treatment program. These sessions are important to the success of Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.
It is important to remember that the treatment of tinnitus or hyperacusis is a long process with no instant or overnight cure.