Free Pre-Consultation

Medical History - some patients have a medical condition that causes tinnitus. A medical history will assist with diagnosis and recommending treatment.

Audiological History - identifying possible causes of tinnitus within the hearing pathways, including excessive ear wax, noise exposure, age-related hearing loss.

Psychological History - How has anxiety or stress triggered tinnitus or made it worse? How has tinnitus made stress & anxiety worse? How has tinnitus affected sleep?

Any 'Outer' ear conditions can be identified during video otoscopic examination. Sometimes, ear wax is the cause of tinnitus, or it can make can make tinnitus worse.

During this consultation we will remove any excessive ear wax using microsuction which is safe, comfortable & quick.

Where excessive ear wax is the problem, it's removal can create almost instant tinnitus relief. For some patients, no further treatment is necessary.

The vast majority of patients with tinnitus have some form of hearing loss. Your hearing may be good, but it is the deterioration in hearing which can set off the chain reaction that leads to tinnitus.

We test hearing using Pure-Tone audiometry (testing your hearing of certain frequencies at different intensities. Speech Audiometry tests reveals how clearly you hear speech)

Audiometry can help in the diagnosis of certain conditions that cause tinnitus, and is crucial in the selection of appropriate treatment options.

• Tympanometry tests for conditions of the middle-ear that can cause tinnitus. This is the area between the ear drum & the organ of hearing. This test uses gentle pressure to the ear - it is both safe & comfortable.
• Acoustic Reflex Threshold Screen - a further middle-ear test used in the diagnosis of some conditions that cause tinnitus. This test is safe and comfortable.
• Tinnitus Match and Mask - using variations in sound intensity and frequency we home-in on the volume and pitches of your tinnitus. This information can help us identify how sound therapy can be used to 'mask' tinnitus and thereby reduce it's impact.

These assessments will help us understand your experience with tinnitus and how to treat it. 

Returning to these measures during and after treatment gives you an objective measure of your progress with our tinnitus treatments.

• Tinnitus Functional Index - Medically recognised for scaling the severity and negative impact of tinnitus.
• Insomnia Severity Index - Tinnitus often affects sleep. This assessment measures the nightime and daytime componenets of Insomnia.
• Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale - Determines the levels of anxiety and that is being experienced.

Following the assessments outlined in this section we will commence with one of the fundamental instruments of tinnitus treatment:

Tinnitus Educational Counselling (TED) is important in reducing the fear and anxiety around tinnitus. Not fully understanding tinnitus can lead to an intense fear of what tinnitus is and how tinnitus will affect you in the future.  Fears can lead to a 'fight or flight' response that intensifies tinnitus.

Educational counselling will inform you better about tinnitus and reduce the impact of fear and anxiety that is associated with not fully understanding tinnitus.

This part of the session will incorporate a question and answer dialogue where irrational thoughts & fears are addressed and myths are dispelled. There is a considerable amount of online information that is false and misleading and this only leads to worse tinnitus. We help to clarify, and address your concerns during this part of the consultation.

There are a number of devices that can treat tinnitus successfully including:

• Hearing Aids - for those with even a very mild hearing loss, a hearing device can nearly always provide instantaneous relief from tinnitus. Our hearing aid demonstration will give you a good idea of how this form of tinnitus therapy can provide the relief you need. Hearing aids are comfortable and they are now invisible so nobody will know you are wearing them !
• Sound Generators - These wearable devices can help diminish troubling tinnitus by providing pleasing sounds that also mask your tinnitus. Sounds can be mixed, and varied in intensity until you find the right masking qualities for your tinnitus. These sounds include musical tones, ocean sounds, nature sounds etc.. These devices can also be invisible.
• Combi Devices - these are specialist tinnitus devices that combine the benefits of hearing aid amplification and sound generators. New systems to the market in 2022 are proving to be very effective. Ask us more by calling 020 8059 9645

During this initial consultation we will also touch on therapies that will reduce the anxiety and stress which are serving to make your tinnitus worse. These therapies are tinnitus-specific in their approach. We are focused on using these tools to reduce the tinnitus specifically.

• Tinnitus CBT - (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) modifying thoughts to reduce the negative reaction we have towards tinnitus. These very thoughts serve to intensify tinnitus and make it worse. Through dialogue with your tinnitus therapist, a new way of viewing your tinnitus can evolve, leading to the reduced impact of tinnitus

• Mindfulness and Relaxation Therapy for Tinnitus - anxiety and stress make tinnitus worse. These therapies can teach you the simple, tried-and-tested methods to a fast and effective reduction in anxiety.

• Sleep Counselling for Tinnitus - This is often an important component of any Tinnitus therapy program.

Depending on the outcome from the assessment and this initial consultation, there are a number of pathways that we may recommend:

• No Further Treatment Required -After this initial session you may feel re-assured and not need any further assistance. Or, you may want to absorb the advice given by our therapist and continue to monitor your progress before requesting any further treatment. Often, this initial session is enough to send you on the path you need to manage tinnitus well by yourself.
• Medical Referral - After the initial assessment you may require a medical consultation for the diagnosis and / or treatment of your tinnitus. Our in-house Audiological Physician at the London Neuro-otology Centre is available for these consultations.
• Hearing Aid, Sound generator, Combi Device If these devices have been recommended then a fitting date would be set as part of your program
• Further CBT, Relaxation Therapy, Sleep Counselling. - Further sessions may be recommended to receive the full benefits from these therapies.