Audiologic approach of the patient with tinnitus

Abstract

In most cases, tinnitus is subjective, being defined as solely the patient’s perception of involuntary sounds which do not have a real correspondent in the surrounding sound environment and are perceived in one of the ears or in the whole head. The impact of these sounds on the pa­tient varies widely, from ignorance to despair and even suicide attempy. The management of the patient with tinnitus involves a detailed history, completed by self-assessment questionnaires of the impact of tin­nitus, subjective and objective audiological tests, ima­gis­tic or neurological investigations. If the aetiology of tinnitus can be identified, the causal treatment for 1-3 months is the first intention treatment. In the absence of any benefit, drug therapy, cognitive the­ra­py (TRT – Tinitus Retraining Therapy), prosthetic or psy­cho­lo­gi­cal treatment may be recommended.