Poll: Would You Have Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) If You Got It for Free?

Would you have TRT if you got it for free and not dislike it without trying it out?

 

A very good question Glynis. I would definitely try TRT if it were for free and I was in distress with my tinnitus.
Michael

 

sure Why not?

 

I would even pay for it if there were any skilled practitioners here in Australia.

 

Just out of interest how much does it cost? Is it available on the NHS? Most importantly, does it work? Or should I say work for everyone? Sorry for so many questions! Just one more though, what exactly does it entail?

 

@max1882 TRT is considered one of the best treatments for tinnitus and hyperacusis. Please look in the forum list for my post: What is Tinnitus and when should it be started? More information is there. The treatment is expensive whatever part of the world you are from. Uk I believe is around 3 to 4k. The treatment last 12 months to 2years. I had it twice on the NHS. Only certain hospitals practice it. Results vary between people. If you are a negative thinking person it isn't likely that you will gain any benefit. Please read my post or the TRT book is available from Amazon cost around £40. I have and it's very comprehensive.
All the best
Michael

 

Absolutely......would love to try it.

 

Thanks for the reply Michael. I presume it's only free on the NHS for people who suffer badly. As bad and annoying mine is i know there are people a lot worse than me. I'd say I'm a 4/10 but I'm in the middle of a spike of 6/10

 

There is a thread about research into TRT effectiveness here:

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/thread...training-therapy-where-are-the-results.13016/

The first post, which was from January 2016, says that as of that date there is not much evidence available with regard to how well TRT works. That was almost a year ago...possibly there has been additional light shed on TRT effectiveness since then?

 

Max. Many people naturally habituate to their tinnitus within the first 6 months to a year without treatment. Please read the post below.

What is TRT and when should it be started?

I have talked about TRT in many of my posts. One tinnitus talk member recently told me that I have mentioned it no less than twenty five times. He went on to ask, am I an Audiologist promoting my practice in this forum purely for business purposes? Another member was quite disgruntled and told me to stop mentioning it because where he lives the treatment is expensive and can’t afford it. It just goes to show one never knows what is going on behind the scenes when you think no one is watching.

I understand and empathise with people that are unable to afford this treatment or any other to help one’s health but don’t feel this is a good enough reason for me to stop mention it when I believe it can help, having had TRT twice in the 20 years that I’ve had tinnitus. I am not an Audiologist. I just consider myself like many others at tinnitus talk, who want to help people that are having a difficult time coping with this condition, as I was once helped many years go when I first got tinnitus.

Some people have been sending me private messages asking if TRT cures tinnitus? A member mentioned having two sessions with their Audiologist and was shown some slides, and told that anxiety can make tinnitus louder. Understandably this person wasn’t sure if this was TRT, and then asked if it’s something they could do on their own? As I have mentioned I have had TRT twice and I also have the Tinnitus Retraining Therapy book, written by Professor Pawel Jasterboff and Jonathon Hazell. It is available at Amazon should anyone wish to purchase it.

It is the reference book that Hearing Therapists and Audiologists follow when practicing TRT with their tinnitus patients. There are two parts to the treatment. Counselling and sound therapy. Sound therapy is supplied by wearing two white noise generators and then using a “sound machine “ at night by the bedside for sound enrichment. If hyperacusis is present the sound therapy will also treat it. Throughout the TRT book there is no mention that this treatment cures tinnitus. TRT or Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, is what it implies: Through regular counselling sessions there is a gradual retraining of the way a person thinks about tinnitus and to treat it as non life threatening.

At first the therapist discusses with the patient how the tinnitus makes them feel and how it has impacted on their life. Often people say they have lost interest in the things they once liked doing, which is perfectly understandable. The main goal here is to gradually help them look at life differently and with a more positive outlook. Over time the negative thinking that is often associated with tinnitus and hyperacusis is gradually dispelled and demystified.

The Hearing Therapist does this in a controlled and precise manner so that the patient feels relaxed and not pressured. In many instances the tinnitus is gradually pushed further into the background making it less prominent. Therefore, it must be stressed and understood, this treatment takes time. To complete a course of TRT takes approximately twelve to twenty four months and in some cases longer. The duration of each counselling session is left to the discretion of the Hearing Therapist. Typically, these can last up to one hour or more. The amount of appointments required will be different for each patient, but it is quality rather than the quantity of the counselling that really matters.

There are a few misconceptions about this treatment and the way it is administered that some people misunderstand which I want to address. If a patient is given one white noise generator to wear this is not TRT. When two wngs are issued and no tinnitus counselling is offered on a regular basis, it is not TRT. I am not saying that a patient will not gain any benefit from the above treatments; I only want to state they do not follow the proper Tinnitus retraining therapy protocol.

When should TRT be implemented or started?

The following is based on my own opinion and therefore is not professional medical advice. The onset of tinnitus can be quite an emotional roller coaster for a lot of people, and I believe a person needs time for this to settle. Many people habituate within the first 6 months to one year of the onset of tinnitus without any treatment. If a person just has tinnitus without any additional symptoms, such as dizziness, deafness or balance problelems. I think a period of six months should elapse before starting a long-term treatment such as TRT.

Michael

 

No, for one simple reason: T is a singular event that happens to you. One day you don't have it. Then another day it suddenly appears. Clearly something happened, and I bet it wasn't some sort of "counseling" that gave you T in the first place. If you weren't counseled into tinnitus how on earth can you be counseled out of it. You're better off trying mindfulness or some other Buddhist form of meditation if you need something to help cope with it. For a cure, or at the very least symptomatic relief, it won't do anything.

Another reason I wouldn't do it is because it is in essence giving up. While I believe acceptance is a good thing, as with the death of a loved one for example, it shouldn't be the end goal with tinnitus. You must fight to find a cure, no matter what!

 

I would give it a shot depending on the doctor (and I may get it paid for if WC approves of it).

If the doctor doesn't understand hyperacusis and just thinks it's all psychological then I don't think I'd have much confidence in them. I think I know enough about tinnitus to know if they are bullshitting me.

I'm willing to try just about anything if I believe it has a chance of helping.

 

TRT is not giving up! Negative thinking will kill anyone. God is in charge and there is a reason why T is with us. Some people can blow out there ears and not get T!

 

Yes, but I think we've been let down by the medical community.
There should be some treatment that actually reduces the noise.
It's not good enough that TRT is all we have.

 

When my tinnitus was new and hyperacusis joined in to create a horror show daily, yes, definitely anything like TRT would be most welcome, free or not. After all many people have claimed success with it. Unfortunately, back then Vancouver didn't have a certified therapist in TRT. I used CBT on self-help mode plus mindfulness and some of my own strategies to help turn around. Now T is no longer an issue high or low and I come here to this forum mainly to help out the new sufferers. I think TRT definitely has its place but there are also other less costly strategies which may help too. And as Michael puts in, many people habituate to T without any treatment after 6 months or more. These people will probably skip TRT even if free because T is no longer an issue to them and they know TRT is not something that will cure T but to help the habituation which they have already achieved.

 

Yes, if it were free. As soon as it would cost a penny I would hold my horses though. I will not settle for anything less than a more curative treatment of the root cause if it were to cost me money, as coping or habituation is a stage we will reach eventually anyway; with or without TRT. There is no other choice.

I am sure it is a profitable business for a few and it is nice there's at least some help out there for people who seek that kind of help... I am also sure some are helped by it in some ways, but it is no end solution; you will get used to a lowered quality of life and just move on. The problem is however still there.

It is by any means better to pocket the money you would spend on TRT and hold out till a more curative treatment comes around. With all the research currently going on, this might just happen soon enough.

 

It's already free for me since I live in Sweden, but it's not real TRT according to the experts anyway.

 

It is also free in certain hospitals in the UK lapidus. I have had proper TRT with counselling and wearing white noise generators with good results.
Would you mind telling me what your TRT consists of?
Michael

 

Just got a couple of broadband noise generators and be on my merry way to figure out the rest myself.

 

Lol at least you got generators,over here they give you a blank CD and tell you to burn pink noise onto it.

Your then told to give it time,get out more and don't over use earplugs,thank you and have a nice day.

 

Thanks @lapidus What you got wasn't TRT. Unless you have regular counselling sessions with a hearing therapist and wear white noise generators upto 10hrs a day and use a sound machine at night for sound enrichment. It is not TRT
Michael

 

Well said @Gilly6864 Some people haven't a clue what they are talking about and usually when their tinnitus is just mild. Anyone that has experienced loud intrusive tinnitus, knows how debilitating it can be and would try anything for relief. Just Google tinnitus and read what some people do when they can't stand the noise anymore.
Michael

 

It has been about 17 years since I started TRT through Dr. Prass and Howard Gutnick in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Tinnitus had and continues to have a tremendous impact on my life. The maskers were a help and the drug therapy that Dr. Prass added gave me back some control over my life. Unfortunately, it is wearing off and neither of my care givers are still practicing in the area. I really need to start TRT anew once again...

Regards, Matt.

 

What drugs were you prescribed?

 

Greg,
Sorry for the delay in responding... I was prescribed 4mg of Klonopin/Clonazepam and Flexeril(I don't remember the dosage). I have tremendous neck tension and Dr. Prass thought my spikes, which can be deafening, came from spasms of the tensor tympani muscle in response to this chronic neck tension. They took me off of Flexeril, which actually helped, because my insurance company said I had been on it more than the PDR(Physicians Desk Reference) recommended. The kicker is that my insurance company does not care about anything other than the premiums and keeping their expenditures on my insurance to a minimum. That the Doctor knuckled under to an insurance nitwit, at the cost of much of my improvement spoke volumes about him... I had gone back to Harvard and was in the 90th percentile when they pulled the rug out and I went back to sitting on the side of the bed crying and rarely slept until after 72 hours or so I would fall asleep for a few hours due to nervous exhaustion...

I am now on 6mg of Klonopin a day and take 400 mg of Seroquel before bed to literally KNOCK ME OUT so I can get some sleep. We went through all of the sleep medications and the ONLY thing that worked was Seroquel. It is an antipsychotic with sleep being an off label use. Most everyone is shocked by the numbers on both drugs. I have good hearing, however, right now the ringing is so loud I can't hear very much else. It is horribly depressing...
Regards, Matt Garrett
Chesapeake, Virginia USA

Btw, I have very expensive private insurance and they cover almost NOTHING when it comes to TRT. We spent roughly $12K out of pocket for the three years of TRT. It DID HELP, however, it has almost totally worn off. We spend money on the dumbest things over here and yet there is so little set aside for Tinnitus Research. Maddening.

 

Absolutely not. I firmly believe that TRT is one of the reasons their is no real treatment yet.

 

@Matthew Garrett - thanks for the update!

 

I would! Everyone should, no risk!

 

No risk but there is harm. Every dollar spent on TRT is a dollar not going, to research. Plus it encourages furthering this path of treating tinnitus instead of focusing on what needs to be focused on.

 

Since I live in Denmark and we have free health care it is free to have TRT here. But my audiologist think it is too early for me to start such a treatment. I do kinda agree with her.