Audio therapy has proven to be successful for many tinnitus sufferers and it is more commonly referred to as “retraining therapy”. This type of audio therapy involves training those who have tinnitus to change the way they perceive certain sounds, making it easier to block out the noises which are caused by their underlying condition. Although the success of this type of therapy varies from person to person, it can be effective if enough time and effort is invested in it.
In order for it to be successful, a person with tinnitus must commit to audio therapy for an extended period of time. Because the sounds which are heard by those who have tinnitus have more to do with how the brain processes the sounds, they are able to “unhear” them. After the people who undergo this type of therapy learn to classify the phantom sounds they perceive as neutral, they do not pose as much of a problem in everyday life.
This type of audio or retraining therapy has proven to be immensely effective for those who stick with it long enough and truly commit. The primary reason why it takes so long to start seeing results is because the individual must essentially be trained to filter out certain sounds as neutral and others as being more positive.
A broadband noise is used to treat tinnitus in this type of therapy and those who undergo it first listen to soft level sounds for a certain period of time each day. This helps with the patient’s overall tolerance of sounds and it is important in the retraining process. The doctor who is in charge of the therapy must identify the loudness discomfort level of the patient and from there shape the audio therapy treatment in such a way as to achieve a tolerable overall level.
Those who have pulsatile tinnitus, which is considered to be a very rare type, have a tumor which causes them to hear sounds simultaneously, can benefit from this type of therapy. Even after the patient’s tumor is removed, they continue to hear the phantom sounds.
Those who have this condition and are exposed to a certain sound tend to hear it even after they are no longer being exposed to it. After enough time has passed, those who have tinnitus can learn to simply “tune out” the noises they are hearing with the help of this therapy.
