Tinnitus Evaluation

At this appointment we will review your tinnitus and hearing concerns, complete a hearing test, and consider treatment and/or management options.

Comprehensive case history
Video otoscopy to ensure your ears are clear of wax and to check for any abnormalities that require medical attention
Wax removal if required and not contraindicated
Tympanometry to check how your middle ear is functioning
Pure-tone audiometry to determine hearing thresholds at different frequencies
High-frequency audiometry
Speech testing to assess your ability to discriminate words in quiet and noise
Report with recommendations provided to you and your family physician
Consult about tinnitus management options
Resources for managing tinnitus

$120

Book a Tinnitus Evaluation

Why Do I Have Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is generally considered a symptom rather than a disease or illness. It is incredibly common - about 10% of the population has tinnitus. It is considered to be generated in the brain. Common causes of tinnitus include:

Hearing Loss

When you have hearing loss, there are certain pitches that you don’t hear well anymore. Sometimes the brain tries compensate for this loss by filling in gaps of sound with its own sound, tinnitus. This kind of tinnitus can often sound like a tone - e.g. a high-pitch hum or squealing.

Noise exposure

Noise exposure can damage the hair cells in your ear that pick up sound. This damage can result in tinnitus before any hearing loss becomes obvious on a hearing test. Sometimes it can cause hearing loss in the ultra high frequencies that aren’t tested at most hearing clinics. If you have tinnitus after noise exposure, it is an indicator that the noise level is too high and is causing damage to your hearing.

Stress and anxiety

Tinnitus can be exacerbated by stress and anxiety. Most people naturally habituate to tinnitus within the first six months of having it. When stress becomes intertwined with your tinnitus, it can be harder to habituate.

Ear infections

Ear infections can cause temporary hearing loss. As a result, they can lead to tinnitus.

Head and neck injury

Head and neck injuries can sometimes result in tinnitus.

Medications

Tinnitus is a side effect of some medications. Reach out to your doctor if you feel that your tinnitus may have been caused by medication.

Medical Conditions

Other medical conditions can be associated with tinnitus, such as temporomandibular disorder, cervical spine degeneration, and Meniere’s Disease.

Types of Tinnitus Management

Progressive Tinnitus Management

Developed primarily by Dr. James Henry
Stepped-care provided based on patient needs
Treatment involves counseling and sound therapy
Some levels of management are provided by both an audiologist and a behavioural health provider
More information on Progressive Tinnitus Management available here.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

Founded by Dr. Pawel Jastreboff with cofounders Dr. Margaret Jastreboff and Dr. Jonathan Hazell
Goal is to reduce awareness of your tinnitus and to minimize impact of tinnitus on your life
Treatment involves structured counseling and sound therapy
More information on Tinnitus Retraining Therapy available here

Tinnitus Activities Treatment

Developed primarily by Dr. Richard Tyler
Treatment involves counselling about tinnitus and its effects, coping strategies for tinnitus, and sound therapy
Treatment plan is developed based on problems that you are experiencing
More information on Tinnitus Activities Treatment available here.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Purpose of cognitive behavioural therapy is to improve quality of life
Negative thoughts and beliefs about tinnitus are identified and replaced with more helpful thoughts and beliefs to lessen its effects
Sometimes focus of therapy is acceptance, instead of changing thoughts
Behavioural techniques are also used, such as relaxation and distraction
Cognitive behavioural therapy is provided by a trained behavioural health provider, such as a psychologist or social worker

Finding Tinnitus Relief

Tinnitus can often sound like a “ringing”, “whooshing”, “buzzing”, or “crickets”. Tinnitus is a symptom of the auditory system not working normally. It is not an illness or a disease. For many people, tinnitus improves over time as you habituate to it. Since tinnitus is a very common symptom of hearing loss, getting your hearing tested is a great starting point. Tinnitus can often be managed effectively with a combination of sound enrichment, sound therapy, and relaxation.

If you are feeling very anxious or depressed about your tinnitus, please reach out to a mental health professional immediately.

Sometimes it can be easy to confuse a hearing problem with a tinnitus problem. If you feel like your tinnitus is affecting your ability to communicate, you likely have a hearing problem that should be addressed by an audiologist. You may find hearing aids incredibly helpful in this scenario.

While there may not be any way to “cure” tinnitus, there are ways to manage it so that it doesn’t have a negative impact on your life.

Imagine being in a dark room and there’s a candle burning. The candle will be bright and hard to ignore.

Now turn on the light. Do you even notice the candle anymore?

Tinnitus is often like a candle in a dark room. It becomes very obvious when everything is quiet, but becomes less noticeable when you are surrounded by the sounds of every day life.

Sound

Tinnitus is usually most noticeable when you’re somewhere very quiet or boring and less noticeable when you’re busy throughout the day. You can make the most of this by enriching your sound environment. The sounds you use can include any combination of environmental noise, music, and speech.

Try this:

Soothing sound: A soothing sound can be any sound that makes you feel better when you listen to it. This could be the sound of ocean waves, rain, relaxing music, and so on. The goal of soothing sound is to help relieve the stress you feel from hearing your tinnitus.
Background sound: Background sounds are neutral, meaning that you don’t feel annoyed or soothed by them. They can help you pay less attention to your tinnitus by reducing the contrast between the tinnitus and your environment. You could try using noise from a fan, a white noise machine, or music - just don’t choose anything you find annoying!
Interesting sound: Interesting sounds can distract you from focusing on your tinnitus by keeping your attention on the interesting sound instead of the tinnitus. Interesting sounds could be listening to talk radio, audiobooks or chatting on the phone with a friend.

You can use a variety of devices for these sounds: A fan, a sound generator, your phone, a radio, TV, pillow speakers, hearing aids - or any combination!

Stress Management

Your thoughts, behaviours, and emotions are all linked to one another. You can work with a mental health professional who practices cognitive behavioural therapy or acceptance therapy to help manage your reactions to your tinnitus. They can help you think and feel more positively about your tinnitus.