Are You Suffering From Any of These Symptoms as a Result of Tinnitus? Call Today for a Consultation.
■ Mild to severe anxiety
■ Depression
■ Insomnia
■ Negative thinking
■ Triggered fight or flight
■ Crying spells
■ Hopelessness
■ Ringing in the ears
■ Suicidal thoughts
Are you growing more isolated? Do you feel like life will never be the same? Are you refraining from activities that you enjoy? Are you fearful of losing your job? Do you find that your thoughts tend to be negative?
If you answered yes to 3 or more of these questions or symptoms, then we can help. You may be a candidate for Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy, or TCRT.
With over 20 years of clinical experience, Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R developed Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy and founded the Tinnitus Cognitive Center™ in response to the growing number of Tinnitus sufferers coming to his private practice.
He discovered that by helping people to retrain and reinterpret the thoughts around their Tinnitus, anxiety and depression symptoms began to improve. But even more important so did the Tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a disorder where you experience ringing in your head or ears while there is no external sound or noise present. You hear noises on either intermittent or continuous basis. The sound keeps on fluctuating in your eardrums. The types of sounds heard can vary significantly and the annoying noises can exacerbate the symptoms. You may hear sounds similar to hissing, static, roaring, buzzing, whistling and whooshing.
Tinnitus is split into categories according to the response of sensory organ;
Objective tinnitus
This is where the doctor will be able to listen to the sound in your ear during his diagnosis. Objective tinnitus isn’t that common and develops only when there is a complication with your blood vessels in the ear. Another symptom of this health complication is that you will the muscle contract in the middle of the ear.
Subjective tinnitus
This occurs due to prolonged exposure to sound. Subjective tinnitus is the most common type of tinnitus and leads to excruciating pain in the inner, middle and outer ear. The foremost cause of tinnitus is a damaged nerve in the ear.
Symptoms include:
Tinnitus symptoms may also develop due to the prior health issues such as heart problems, hypertension and Meniere’s disease. However, there are certain types of tinnitus in which you hear such noises.
Hyperacusis and its symptoms
If you have worked at a construction site, warehouse or a factory and were involved in using noisy, heavy machinery on a day to day basis, it is strongly recommended that you ask for a transfer or be sure to wear heavy, protective ear-gear. Why? Well, prolonged exposure of extremely loud noises can make people susceptible to tinnitus. The scientific term is referred to as “Hyperacusis” where you become highly sensitive to a certain sound frequency – and whenever you hear it, symptoms begin surface. This condition can worsen the physical complication and can lead to intolerable pain.
Pulsatile tinnitus and its symptoms
The rhythmical noise in eardrum indicates “pulsatile tinnitus”, which occurs simultaneously along your heart beat. The condition is very annoying and painful and the rhythm of the sounds and noise you experience changes when there is a shift in blood flow to your ear. This type of tinnitus is different from the objective tinnitus, and there is plaque formation in your eardrum.
Musical hallucinations and its symptoms
This is where you actually hallucinate sound, you feel as if there is music playing in the room or around you anywhere when there are no sounds at all. It mostly occurs in people with previous medical history of tinnitus and hearing disability. Musical hallucination can also strongly affect people who have normal hearing.
Low-frequency tinnitus
This type of tinnitus is quite puzzling. In low frequency tinnitus, the patient cannot recognize the source of the sound. However, the frequency of the sound is similar to that of a piano, and often the sound will often mimic rumbling, murmuring, humming and deep droning, which can adversely affect your cognitive function and concentration levels.
Bottom line
Unfortunately, there is still no cure for tinnitus yet. However, personal protective equipment such as ear muffs and ear plugs can mitigate the effect of tinnitus. Though the symptoms are too diverse, it’s difficult to identify the signs of tinnitus. Contact the best tinnitus treatment expert in NYC.
Call today for a free 15 min phone consultation 646-213-2321
Tinnitus is a clinical syndrome that results in symptoms of ringing, roaring, or other sounds in the ear. These sounds are frequently not evident to others (subjective tinnitus,) but may sometimes be heard by a healthcare practitioner, particularly when the sound is the result of damage or abnormality in the blood vessels that supply the ear and the hearing apparatus. Dr. Stephen Geller Katz leading NYC tinnitus treatment psychotherapist, can advise you about the newest treatments for tinnitus.
Can Tinnitus Be Cured?
Tinnitus can’t be “cured,” but the effects can be minimized through use of several therapies. Dr.Stephen Geller Katz one of Manhattan’s leading tinnitus treatment psychotherapists, says learning to focus attention somewhere instead of on the sound that characterizes tinnitus is a useful strategy. Some therapies include the application of “white noise,” which tends to distract patients with tinnitus from their focus on the noise they are hearing in their head.
Research Continues for Effective Tinnitus Treatments
A Neuromonics device has been recently introduced for treatment of tinnitus. This device allows an audiologist to match the sound frequency of the patient’s tinnitus to sound generated by the device. Neuromonics tinnitus treatment uses both auditory stimulation of damaged parts of the hearing pathway and techniques for desensitization to tinnitus.
One recent treatment that has been shown to prevent hearing loss that is induced by noise is treatment with a compound that is a precursor of vitamin B3. This therapy has useful implications for prevention of age-related hearing loss, which is a primary cause of tinnitus. The chemical is called nicotinamide riboside, and protects the nerves that transmit sound from the cochlea to the brain.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins discovered last year that “hair cells,” which are important to transmission of sounds to the brain, may become disorganized and result in impairment in hearing. This has important implications for treatment of tinnitus, which often results when hearing is impaired.
Low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is currently being studied at different frequencies. Some of these treatments have resulted in statistically significant reductions of tinnitus loudness, but a 2013 review of the treatment by Theodoroff and Folmer found further studies are needed to determine the most effective procedure.
An area of study for treatment of patients with tinnitus is deep brain stimulation. Although studies of neuromodulation by this technique are promising, much more research is needed to prove consistent benefits from this treatment.
Auditory perceptual training may help patients with tinnitus, by changing neural circuitry. Most studies completed thus far have shown that patients report significant improvement in tinnitus after auditory perceptual training.
Current Recommendations: Tinnitus Retraining Therapy and Masking Techniques
Tinnitus treatment psychotherapist, notes that current recommendations for treatment of tinnitus focus on lessening awareness of the symptoms and decreasing the impact of tinnitus on the patient’s quality of life. In patients with tinnitus, any underlying abnormalities should be treated. Patients who have sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus should consider cochlear implantation, which improves tinnitus in 75% of these patients. Biofeedback and cognitive behavioral therapies are currently recommended, in addition to tinnitus retraining therapy.
As many as 80% of patients who undergo tinnitus retraining therapy with counseling and use of a masking technique see significant improvement in their symptoms. Although research continues in the field, newer therapies have not yet shown adequate evidence of effectiveness to replace these modalities of treatment.
Dr. Stephen Geller Katz is a leading New York City tinnitus treatment psychotherapist, and successfully helps patients minimize the impact of tinnitus on their lives.
Call today for a free 15min phone consultation 646-213-2321
When it comes to treating tinnitus, there are several options available that may work for patients. One of the options your doctor may recommend is the use of sound therapy. In short, the sound can help to mask or otherwise limit the amount of sound you hear from tinnitus itself. One of the options you may learn about is a white noise machine. This type of care may be one of the least invasive treatment options that offers an effective result. Working with your LCSW-R in New York City can provide you with treatment options for your symptoms.
How can a White Noise Machine Help You?
White noise machines are newer types of treatments for tinnitus. Generally, the device will generate white noise. When used as a treatment for tinnitus, the device works to reduce the unwanted sounds significantly. Some people report that the sound is gone altogether.
White noise is a unique sound. It is made up of various frequencies of sound along the complex sound spectrum. When used at the right level, it can create a rather soothing sound. In fact, some dentists use white noise as a way to help reduce anxiety in patients.
For treatment for tinnitus, the white noise generator is a small device much like a hearing aid. You will place it on your ear or right behind the ear. The device is battery powered. And, once in place, it will produce a constant, but very low noise that sounds like a rushing sound. This sound is then transferred from the device into the ear using a small tube. This moves the sound closer to the ear drum. It is generally used in both ears, though some patients may only have it present in just one. As a neutral sound, it works very well to reduce any other ringing sound you have.
What we know about tinnitus indicates that it is generally not the presence of a real sound in the ear, but rather the brain working to turn up your hearing so it can hear better. With that understanding, then, it makes sense that, with the use of a white noise machine, it is possible to see a reducing in the amount of tinnitus heard. The white noise works because it helps to make the auditory system less sensitive to sounds in general. Work with your LCSW-R in NYC to determine if this is the right treatment for you.
Call today for a free 15min phone consultation 646-213-2321
Individuals suffering from tinnitus often struggle with many daily tasks. Depending on the severity of the condition as well as how often the patient suffers from it, doctors may recommend one or more tinnitus treatment options. The condition, which is the perception of noise or a ringing sound in the inner ear is not uncommon, but it does require care from a trained LCSW-R provider in New York City.
What Treatment Options Exist?
The first step is to diagnose and treat any underlying health condition causing the condition to occur. In many cases, your doctor will determine there is some type of underlying condition that can be related to the cause. If this is the case, your doctor will treat it properly. This may include:
Removing a buildup of earwax that often can cause or worsen the symptoms of this condition
Treating any existing blood vessel condition that is causing it, which may include through the use of medication or surgery
Changing a medication that may be causing it, depending on the need for that medication.
There are other treatment options available as well. In some situations, the goal is to reduce the sound to make it more bearable. Your doctor may recommend doing this through the use of:
Hearing aids to improve sound and reduce other risk factors contributing to the noise
Using white noise machines that can help to block out the sound
Masking devices can also be used to produce a low level of white noise to suppress the condition.
Your doctor may elect to use medications to treat tinnitus as well. Some medications including tricyclic antidepressants and alprazolam are used to help reduce symptoms and to provide better overall satisfaction with other treatments when paired with them. Medications often have side effects your doctor will need to address as well. Alternative medication is yet another treatment plan your doctor may recommend.
The use of specific supplements, hypnosis, and acupuncture may also lead to improvement in symptoms as well as help patients to overcome the condition.
For those who suffer from tinnitus that is significant or severe, seek out care from a trusted LCSW-R in New York City is a necessary first step. With numerous tinnitus treatment options available, it is possible for your doctor to find a solution that can help you overcome this condition for good or learn to live with it in a better way.
Call today for a free 15min phone consultation 646-213-2321
Retraining your brain sounds difficult, but it is actually something that is being done as part of the treatment options available for Tinnitus. Tinnitus, or ringing ears, involves hearing a ringing sound or even a buzzing sound all the time, even when there is nothing there to create the sound. The result can be a constant drain on the body and the mind.
What is Retraining Therapy?
The first step to understanding how retraining therapy can help as a tinnitus treatment option is to understand exactly what retraining therapy is all about. The brain gets used to certain things. It processes things a certain way. This is especially true when dealing with sound. Sound comes into the ear and then the brain has to process it. The brain believes this is the sound you should be listening too or a sound to ignore. If the brain did not do this, you would constantly be jumping at every sound you heard, as soon as it came into hearing.
In the case of Tinnitus, the brain believes this ringing or buzzing sound should be a prominent sound. This means you hear it all the time, everywhere, and it becomes part of the minute-to-minute sounds that would normally be put into the white noise category, there but ignorable.
How Retraining Therapy Works
Retraining therapy is a lot like it sounds, it is designed to retrain the brain so that it recognizes the ringing caused by this condition as a secondary sound, one that does not have any importance. For most people, this causes the sound to lessen in volume and to become easier to ignore. In this way, the stress on the mind and body of the person suffering from this condition can be eased.
There is currently no cure for this disorder and there are a variety of ways it can be caused and experienced. Retraining therapy has gained enough notoriety that it is considered by compensation and insurance programs to be an acceptable treatment option.
If you are experiencing symptoms of Tinnitus, contact us, we offer top care in NYC. We are happy to schedule an appointment for you today.
Tinnitus Cognitive Center™
Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R 19 West 34th Street Penthouse Floor New York, NY 10001
