Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Program
The Jacksonville Speech and Hearing Center has a program to treat patients who suffer from tinnitus, the annoying and sometimes disabling noises (e.g., ringing, buzzing, roaring) that occur within the ear. Fenja Mattson, AuD, Doctor of Audiology, is trained and certified in Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and directs the program. TRT is an innovative and highly successful program for helping individuals who have tinnitus and related conditions, such as over-sensitivity to sounds and negative emotional reactions to certain sounds. Dr. Jastreboff developed the treatment for tinnitus in the mid 1980’s. TRT has been utilized in the United States since 1990 with a success rate of over 80% of the patients. Treatment can be expected to last approximately 18 months.
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is very common and is noise heard in the head or ears. Even though this affects many individuals, tinnitus can be more annoying to some and described as low pitched, high pitched, noticeable, pulsatile or steady. Some people will report subjective tinnitus (only heard by the person) while others report objective tinnitus (heard by others as well).