Tinnitus Distress

Tinnitus is a condition in which the brain perceives sounds without an external source. These sounds can be described as ringing, buzzing, humming, hissing, clicking, or roaring. For some individuals, tinnitus can be distressing, leading to emotional, psychological, and physical reactions to these phantom sounds.

Why It Happens

Tinnitus is not a figment of your imagination; it is a very real response to an imbalance in your auditory pathways or hearing damage. Triggers can include stress, poor sleep, and diet.

The distress occurs when your nervous system's emotional processing centers flag the sounds as a threat. This creates a feedback loop that leads to:

• Sleep disruption (e.g., insomnia)

• Concentration issues

• Anxiety and depression

Treatment

While there is no cure for tinnitus, its associated distress can be effectively managed. The primary treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which helps to rewire how your brain reacts to and processes the sound. The focus of treatment shifts from "curing" the noise to breaking the cycle of distress, allowing your brain to treat the ringing as background noise (habituation).

CBT is considered the gold standard and the most evidence-based intervention for tinnitus and:

• Helps change your negative psychological response and reduces emotional reactivity to tinnitus.

• Teaches you how to better cope with tinnitus and promotes habituation over time.

• Provides a set of skills to help you calm down, improve functioning—such as sleep and concentration—and fully reengage with your life.

Dr. Ritenour is one of a small number of mental health clinicians who specialize specifically in treating tinnitus distress.