Tinnitus treatment: Which therapies offer relief

What to do in case of tinnitus?

It is important that tinnitus treatment is taken early: if possible, sufferers should go to an ENT doctor as soon as they hear the first ringing in their ears. In the case of a newly occurring tinnitus, the most likely treatment is a causal treatment that will make it disappear. It is therefore not a good idea to go to the doctor after weeks with a persistent ringing in the ears due to stress. This could lead to the development of chronic tinnitus in the brain, which cannot be cured.

Depending on the cause, medication, tinnitus counselling or relaxation methods can help with acute ringing in the ears. If no treatable physical cause can be identified, ENT doctors usually use medication in the form of infusions or tablets. Instead of the drugs often used in the past to promote blood circulation, cortisone preparations are now generally used to improve the cell metabolism of the hearing cells and the electrical conductivity of the auditory pathways. Sometimes the doctor also injects the cortisone directly into the middle ear if treatment with tablets is not successful.

Different methods of tinnitus treatment

In the case of a sudden hearing loss with tinnitus, the doctor often first treats with cortisone infusions to relieve the acute symptoms. This is followed by a thorough examination to find out the cause of the hearing loss and to treat it specifically. In most cases, acute tinnitus disappears after successful treatment of the underlying disease. If an inflammation of the middle ear is the cause of the tinnitus, antibiotics are used instead of cortisone to treat the tinnitus. If the inner ear is damaged by noise exposure, such as a blast trauma, hyperbaric oxygen therapy may also be considered

Relaxation, healthy living and education help

Many sufferers suffer more from their tinnitus when they are under stress. Relaxation techniques such as autogenic training, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, qigong and tai chi, as an accompanying measure to tinnitus treatment, help to deal with stress more confidently and thus keep the tinnitus under control. A healthy life with a balanced diet, lots of exercise and little alcohol also helps to control the tinnitus. Cigarettes are completely taboo, because smoking tobacco increases the noise in the ears. But complete silence can also be problematic, so social withdrawal is not helpful. It is very useful to be comprehensively informed about your tinnitus as part of your tinnitus therapy. During the so-called tinnitus counselling, the doctor will explain the possibilities of what a person affected by tinnitus can do and how to suppress the noise in his or her ear as far as possible.

Sometimes hearing aids or tinnitus noisers are already used in the acute phase.

Therapies for chronic tinnitus

As already mentioned: Healing chronic tinnitus is usually not possible. With chronic tinnitus it is no longer a question of making the tinnitus disappear completely. Those affected learn to get used to it and pay less attention to the noises, and eventually to overhear them. Special hearing aids and combined therapy programs help in this process:

Special hearing aids or "mufflers" (tinnitus noisers) redirect the perception of the brain in such a way that the ringing in the ears becomes less and less important. In addition, people with specially adapted hearing aids hear and understand the auditory information from their surroundings better and concentrate more on it. In addition, tinnitus counselling helps people to learn how to cope with their tinnitus. Relaxation techniques, bio- or neurofeedback and cognitive behavioural therapy help to reduce stress and work through problems.

Many ENT doctors and Hearing Aid Centres offer help with tinnitus in special consultation hours. Some sufferers, especially those suffering from severe forms of tinnitus, are helped by a stay in a psychosomatic clinic that offers neuro-otological-psychosomatic tinnitus therapy (NPT). This interdisciplinary treatment concept has now replaced the former Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT).