Tinnitus is uncurable but cognitive retraining therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy can help. Stephen Geller Katz has 20 years of clinical experience, creating the Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy and the Tinnitus Cognitive Center to combat the growing number of people suffering from this condition.
How does Tinnitus impact emotional health?
Fifty percent of Tinnitus sufferers experience emotional health problems. These issues are as small as frustration and as large as clinical depression. The condition may even lead to phobias related to sound.
The wide variety of problems greatly impact the quality of life. Negative thoughts lead to a vicious cycle which deepens if left unchecked and furthers the symptoms, in turn worsening thoughts.
What is cognitive retraining therapy?
Once damaged, the cilia and nerve in the ear are irreparable. However, this type of therapy works by training the brain to reinterpret objective and subjective feedback that causes symptoms to flare. Over time, you can learn to cope with these issues with this compensatory treatment.
By targeting core beliefs and the intermediate thoughts leading to dangerous reactions, cognitive training therapy allows you to deal with flare-ups. In targeting the intermediate thoughts and core beliefs surrounding Tinnitus, this therapy treats responses to the symptoms.
What are the goals of Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy?
The long-term effects of allowing a cognitive disorder to deepen are devastating. For people suffering from Tinnitus, this includes a cycle related to depression, anxiety, and the quality of life. Studies linked heightened levels of job anxiety to the condition.
Altering the constant negative thoughts related to this condition reduces related levels of anxiety and depression. The parts of the brain linked to the fight or flight and fear are trained to better cope with Tinnitus symptoms. A series of exercises and strategies aim to allow people to think around the phantom noises and activity related to Tinnitus.
In dealing with the thoughts, beliefs, and reactions to Tinnitus, symptoms may improve. Education, cognitive therapy, relaxation training, and exposure targeting the cycle which worsens flare-ups helps decrease related issues.
Are cognitive retraining therapies proven?
Cognitive treatments are effective in dealing with Tinnitus. The past sixteen years have seen a growing awareness of Tinnitus. The brain activity of sufferers provides the basis for the most promising discoveries. MRI research found that the areas interpreting sound and causing fearful emotions were highly active in people who complain of having the condition’s symptoms.
Cognitive therapy is based on a platform where a situation, the phantom noise related to Tinnitus, is evaluated as a danger and leads to behavioral, emotional, and psychological consequences. Core beliefs such as a fear of losing your job lead to intermediate thoughts and automatic reactions. Studies in the Korean Journal of Audiology and by a wide variety of researchers found that targeting the intermediate thoughts and core beliefs helped alleviate symptoms.
Our clients report making significant gains in dealing with their symptoms. Still, since each person’s case is unique, it is important not to assume that improvements in training exercises lead directly to an increase in quality of life. Aftercare is crucial to this therapy as licensed professionals attempt to transfer your new skills to everyday life settings.
The Tinnitus Cognitive Center deploys a revolutionary cognitive therapy for Tinnitus suffers. Schedule a meeting to find out just what is cognitive retraining therapy.
Call Steven Geller Katz LCSW at (646) 213-2321 today.
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References
Heid, Markham. How is Tinnitus Going to Affect My Life? Possible Complications to Be Aware Of.(2018, July 10). Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/tinnitus/how-tinnitus-going-affect-my-life-possible-complications-aware/
Jun, Hyung and Park, Moo Kyun. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Tinnitus: Evidence and Efficacy. (2013, 17 December). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3936550/
Reidel, David et al. The influence of tinnitus acceptance on the quality of life and psychological distress in patients with chronic tinnitus. (2015, October 17). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4900501/
Tinnitus. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tinnitus/symptoms-causes/syc-20350156