TINNITUS TOOLBOX
The Tinnitus Toolbox is is designed to support you on your habituation journey at the University of South Florida Tinnitus, Hyperacusis, and Misophonia Clinic. The toolbox presents a variety of ways to manage your reactions to tinnitus. My goal is to provide you with actionable steps that you can implement throughout your habituation journey. It will incorporate a transdisciplinary approach utilizing concepts from audiology, psychology, occupational therapy, mindfulness, nutrition, living a healthy lifestyle, and philosophy in a holistic way.
Call 813-974-8804 to schedule an appointment.
What Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a ringing, humming, buzzing, cricket, or other type of sound in your head or ears that does not have an outside source. For most people with tinnitus, it is constant. Tinnitus is not a disease. It does not make your hearing worse. It is a symptom, typically of hearing loss, noise exposure, ototoxic medications, stress, injury to the head or neck, or TMJ. In some cases, the cause remains unknown, which is medically termed as idiopathic.
Can My Tinnitus Be Cured?
Currently, there is no cure for tinnitus. Ongoing research at various universities and institutions including the University of South Florida continues to explore potential treatments, but no definitive cure has been found yet. There are no medications, supplements, or homeopathic remedies that can silence tinnitus. However, you can learn to manage your reactions to tinnitus, making it less intrusive in your life. Most people do experience improvement over time, and with the right strategies, you can habituate to tinnitus.
What Can I Do?
A major strategy to manage reactions to tinnitus
is education to demystify tinnitus and obtain a better understanding of tinnitus. A second major strategy is sound therapy. The third major strategy is to use self-regulation techniques
to increase resilience to stress, increase happiness, and improved well being. All these strategies can lead to habituation.
What Is Habituation?
A healthy body, healthy mind, and healthy brain are key components to achieve habituation. Habituation is achieved when tinnitus fades into the background and your brain stops paying attention to it. Although it won’t go away completely, using techniques in the tinnitus toolbox can help the brain filter out the tinnitus so it can turn down the perceived volume of the unimportant noise. It takes a lot of time and effort, but with practice it becomes more automatic and effortless.