tinnitus & hyperacusis Therapy Programme

For the vast majority of people, an initial examination followed by 14 therapy sessions may be sufficient to help them overcome the issues created by their tinnitus, hyperacusis, or misophonia. Treatment for patients with severe symptoms can take anything from 14 to 30 sessions. For persons with moderate symptoms, a six-session initial examination may be sufficient. Our method of minimising tinnitus/hyperacusis/misophonia distress is incredibly adaptable and dynamic. The goal of the therapy is to develop new ways of thinking about tinnitus and certain noises (in the case of hyperacusis and misophonia) so that the emotional distress produced by them can be reduced. This allows the tinnitus perception to fade into the background, as well as the loudness and/or intrusiveness of external noises (in the case of hyperacusis and misophonia).

The following tasks will be completed during therapy sessions: (For more detailed explanations see the fact sheet on techniques of cognitive therapy.) Examining the link between tinnitus, hyperacusis, and misophonia-distress and hearing loss. If a hearing aid evaluation is required, you will be given clear instructions and extensive information on what to do next.

Examining the connection between tinnitus/hyperacusis/misophonia-distress and health anxiety, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, general anxiety, and panic disorder. If you need to see a mental health expert in addition to your tinnitus/hyperacusis/misophonia therapy, this will be facilitated for you.

You will be provided detailed information about the underlying process causing your tinnitus/hyperacusis/misophonia-related distress, as well as how to alleviate it.

Most of the patients will go through Behavioural Experiments to extract thoughts, Diaries of tinnitus-related emotions, Prevention of relapse etc as and when required. All patients will receive a detailed treatment progress report that summarises the therapy’s components and makes recommendations for the future.

Following treatment, you’re more likely to:

• Develop more self-assurance and become less bothered by tinnitus, hyperacusis, or misophonia.
• You’ll feel more backed up.
• Gain a better understanding of tinnitus, hyperacusis, and misophonia, as well as why you’ve developed them.
• Don’t think about your tinnitus as much.
• Improve your ability to hear and communicate in everyday situations.
• You’ll be able to cope better in places where you previously struggled because of certain noises.
• Know when to protect your ears and how to do so.
• Become more self-assured and capable of coping on your own.

The results of our tinnitus team’s recent service evaluation on over 2500 patients show a positive decrease in average tinnitus loudness, tinnitus handicap, sleeplessness, and hyperacusis handicap. The differences were all statistically significant.

There were also significant improvements in anxiety and depression symptoms associated with tinnitus. All of the changes were statistically significant, indicating that tinnitus/hyperacusis/misophonia-related distress was likely to be associated with anxiety and depression symptoms in this population. As a result, a specialised CBT focused on reducing tinnitus/hyperacusis/misophonia-related distress has led to improvements in anxiety and depression measures.

The tinnitus team has recommended that all patients who scored abnormally on the questionnaires indicated below to be referred to their general practitioners (GP) for further psychological/psychiatric assessments and treatment. Prior to being referred for tinnitus and/or hyperacusis management, the majority of patients who scored abnormally on these questionnaires had already received treatment for their anxiety issues from their GP or mental health services.

Improvements in “generic” symptom measures in this cohort were likely linked to the presence of tinnitus/hyperacusis/misophonia, hence specialised CBT aimed at reducing tinnitus and/or hyperacusis/misophonia-related suffering was beneficial. It’s worth noting that all patients who scored abnormally on the psychological questionnaires were referred to mental health services by their primary care physician for additional examination and, if necessary, treatment.

The changes in OCD and panic disorder scores, on the other hand, were not statistically significant. This shows that symptoms of OCD and panic disorders are unlikely to be caused by tinnitus and/or hyperacusis, necessitating more specialised interventions by mental health practitioners.

These studies found that audiologist-administered CBT improved self-reported indices of tinnitus, hyperacusis handicap, and sleeplessness significantly.