Tinnitus: What Your Doctor Should Know

February 9th, 2012 by johnadmin

The following is an excerpt from a vey interesting article published in http://uk.health.lifestyle.yahoo.net as part of Tinnitus Awareness Week in the UK, 6th to 12th of February, 2012.

The key message from the article is that, although there isn’t an actual ‘cure’ for tinnitus, there are several treatments and behavioural techniques that can help alleviate the symptoms. And that, in the UK at least, there isn’t sufficient awareness of the condition either in the public at large or, more worryingly, among GPs (General Practitioners).

Even although it references the UK, the issues covered are applicable to anyone suffering from tinnitus, irrespective of where they live…

Tinnitus: what your doctor should know
Tinnitus Awareness Week
Wed 8 Feb, 2012 12:00 am GMT
With no visible signs of what sufferers are going through, tinnitus can leave people feeling isolated and depressed. And with about one in ten people affected by tinnitus, there is a need for greater awareness among both the general public, and GPs specifically.
Typically referred to as a ‘ringing in the ears’, tinnitus is the sensation of hearing a noise when there is no external sound. What that noise is, can vary from person to person but can include ringing, whistling and buzzing. Sometimes the sound is continuous but sometimes it is sporadic.
But the British Tinnitus Association (BTA) is concerned that GP awareness and training of the condition is not sufficient, leading to inconsistent and inadequate advice being given to patients.
In a study part funded by the BTA, a third of patients said they were dissatisfied with the treatment they had received from their GPs, citing their doctors’ lack of knowledge and insensitivity to living with tinnitus. Only 37 per cent of tinnitus patients were referred for further assistance.
David Stockdale, chief executive of the BTA, said: “Thousands of tinnitus patients are being short-changed by their GPs. They are being either completely dismissed, told to ‘learn to live with’ the condition and are being given inaccurate information, or are not being referred to tinnitus clinics for specialist care.”
Read more on Tinnitus: What Your Doctor Should Know.