Tinnitus Doctor in Huntsville
What Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be described as ringing, whooshing, clicking, buzzing, or static that you hear in one or both ears. Some people hear multiple sounds, and the pitch and loudness can fluctuate. Tinnitus can be frustrating because it is a sound only you can hear, and it is different for every person. Book an appointment to meet a tinnitus doctor in huntsville at Apollo Audiology Clinic
What Causes Tinnitus?
The most common cause of Tinnitus is hearing loss, but other causes may include:
- Earwax buildup
- Acoustic trauma, or exposure to loud sounds like gunshots, fireworks, or standing next to speakers at a concert
- TMJ or jaw tension
- Concussion, injury to the head or neck
- Ototoxic drugs that damage the ear, which can include drugs for cancer treatment, diuretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and antidepressants
- Stress
- Ear infections
You Are Not Alone
According to the American Tinnitus Association, approximately 25 million Americans experience tinnitus. For most people, tinnitus isn’t bothersome. For others, tinnitus can greatly affect their quality of life by interrupting sleep, concentration, or participation in recreational activities. Sometimes, tinnitus is also accompanied by sensitivity to loud sounds. Tinnitus treatment at Apollo Audiology-Huntsville focuses on reducing the perception of tinnitus to improve your function in daily life.
Steps to Take When You Have Tinnitus
A multidisciplinary approach can be very helpful in figuring out what might have caused your tinnitus.
- An evaluation by an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor can rule out possible underlying medical issues, such as a tumor, cardiovascular issues, and ear infection.
- Once you have been medically cleared, the next step is to see an audiologist for a hearing test. According to the American Tinnitus Association, approximately 80 percent of people with tinnitus have some hearing loss. Apollo Audiology works with hearing technology that can assist with both hearing loss and tinnitus.
- Once your hearing sensitivity is established, the next step is a tinnitus evaluation. Amanda Davis, an Audiologist at Apollo Audiology-Huntsville will evaluate which type of tinnitus you may have and provide treatment for your unique tinnitus.
Ways to Manage Tinnitus
Tinnitus can be very frustrating, because there is not a single cure or treatment that works for everyone. However, there are many ways to make it less bothersome. Your plan will usually combine several of these.
Treating the hearing loss. Most people with chronic tinnitus have some degree of hearing loss, including loss they have not noticed. Restoring the sound you have been missing often makes tinnitus less prominent on its own, and it is usually the first thing we look at.
Sound therapy. Using external sound so the tinnitus is less noticeable and your attention has somewhere else to go. This can come from hearing aids, from a bedside device, or from a structured program you run on your phone.
The Oto program. A 12-week program you follow at home between your appointments. More on this below.
Sleep. Tinnitus is usually at its worst in a quiet bedroom at the end of a long day. Changing what the room sounds like, and how you wind down, is one of the most reliable improvements available.
Stress management. Stress and tinnitus feed each other. Bringing one down tends to bring the other down with it.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Working on the thoughts and reactions that keep your attention locked on the sound.
Custom hearing protection. Protecting the hearing you still have, so further noise exposure does not make things worse. This matters especially if you work around aircraft, ranges, machinery or power tools.
Why Tinnitus Bothers Some People More Than Others
Two people can have exactly the same sound in their ears and have completely different lives.
For most people, tinnitus is background. For others it takes over sleep, concentration and mood. The difference is usually not how loud the sound is. It is what the brain has decided the sound means.
Your brain is very good at filtering out sound that carries no information. A refrigerator hum disappears within minutes. Tinnitus is different, because at some point it gets flagged as something worth paying attention to. Once that happens a loop starts. You notice the sound, it triggers a stress response, the stress makes you more alert to it, and being more alert makes you notice it more. Each turn of the loop makes the next one easier.
That loop is what we work on. We cannot switch off the signal, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. What we can change is the response to it, and how much of your attention it takes up. That is what decides whether tinnitus is a nuisance or a problem.
It is also why this takes time. Breaking a pattern your brain has spent months or years reinforcing is not a one-appointment job.
What Happens at a Tinnitus Evaluation
Tinnitus care at Apollo Audiology starts with a dedicated evaluation. It is a longer appointment than a standard hearing test, because the questions are different.
A full hearing assessment. Most tinnitus sits on top of some hearing loss. We need to know exactly what is there before we recommend anything.
Tinnitus-specific testing. We measure the pitch and the loudness of your tinnitus, and we check how you tolerate everyday sound levels. Patients who have become sensitive to sound need a different plan, and it is easy to miss if nobody looks for it.
A questionnaire that gives us a number. The Tinnitus Functional Index measures how much your tinnitus is affecting sleep, concentration, mood and daily life. You complete it before your first appointment and again as we go, so we can see whether the plan is working instead of relying on memory.
Your history, properly. When it started, what makes it worse, what you have already tried, and what it is costing you. This is the part most people have never been asked about.
A plan you leave with. At the end of the appointment you will know what we are recommending, what it involves week by week, and what your part of it looks like.
Some tinnitus needs to be seen promptly. Tinnitus that came on suddenly, that is only in one ear, or that pulses in time with your heartbeat should be evaluated quickly and may need an ENT opinion first.
The Oto Tinnitus Program
Apollo Audiology offers Oto, a 12-week tinnitus program you follow at home between your appointments.
Oto uses therapeutic sound in short daily sessions of around ten minutes. The sessions are structured, so you are working through a course rather than picking a track and hoping. Alongside the sound, the program works on the attention you give your tinnitus, on your sleep, and on the stress that makes it harder to live with.
How we set it up. Oto is recommended after your evaluation rather than before, because what we set up depends on what the testing shows. Dr. Davis configures it with you in the clinic, and you leave with it running on your own phone.
What you do. Around ten minutes a day. Most people fit it into a part of the day they already have rather than finding new time for it.
How we track it. You repeat the Tinnitus Functional Index as you go, and Dr. Davis can see your scores between visits. Follow-ups at around four weeks and three months are built into the plan, so the program gets adjusted rather than left to run on its own.
You can see how the twelve weeks are laid out on Oto’s website.
Is Oto backed by research?
Oto’s daily sessions use therapeutic sound, with CBT-based techniques alongside. That approach is recommended for tinnitus management by NICE, by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and by Cochrane.
Oto has been studied in a randomized controlled trial at Flinders University. Ninety-six adults were randomized either to use Oto or to a wait-list control group. At six months, the group using Oto showed a statistically significant improvement on the Tinnitus Functional Index, a validated measure of how much tinnitus is affecting daily life, with a 9-point reduction and an effect size of 0.62.
You can read more about Oto’s research at joinoto.com/research.
Who it is for
Oto is for adults aged 18 and over. It is used alongside the rest of your care, not instead of it. If you wear hearing aids, they restore the sound you have been missing during the day, and Oto gives you sound you control from your phone, including at night when your aids are out. If you do not need hearing aids, Oto is used on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tinnitus Treatment in Huntsville
Q: What is the best treatment for tinnitus?
There is no one-size-fits-all cure, but effective tinnitus treatments do exist. At Apollo Audiology, Dr. Amanda Davis creates a personalized tinnitus management plan that may include sound therapy, management for tinnitus distress, and Cognitive Behavioral Training strategies based on what works best for you.
Q: How long does tinnitus treatment take?
Plan for around three months of active work. Oto runs for 12 weeks, with follow-ups at around four weeks and three months. Progress is rarely a straight line, and most people have better weeks and worse weeks along the way. What we are looking for is a downward trend in your Tinnitus Functional Index score rather than a perfect one.
Q: How do I stop the ringing in my ears?
The first step is identifying what’s causing it. Dr. Davis will conduct a comprehensive tinnitus evaluation to determine the type and severity of your tinnitus, then recommend a targeted plan to reduce or manage the ringing so it no longer controls your life.
Q: What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus is most commonly caused by noise-induced or age-related hearing loss, but can also be triggered by earwax buildup, ear infections, head or neck injuries, and certain medications. A tinnitus evaluation at Apollo Audiology helps pinpoint your specific cause so treatment can be properly targeted.
Q: Is tinnitus related to hearing loss?
Most people with chronic tinnitus also have some degree of hearing loss. Treating underlying hearing loss with sound generators or hearing aids often provides significant relief from tinnitus symptoms.
Q: Can tinnitus be cured permanently?
While there is currently no permanent cure for tinnitus, many patients experience dramatic improvement with the right treatment approach. Dr. Davis will work with you to reduce how much your tinnitus impacts your sleep, concentration, and overall quality of life.
Q: What is the Oto tinnitus program?
Oto is a 12-week tinnitus program that Apollo Audiology sets up for you after your evaluation. It uses therapeutic sound in short daily sessions of around ten minutes, and works on the attention your tinnitus gets, on your sleep, and on the stress around it. You use it on your own phone between appointments, and Dr. Davis tracks your Tinnitus Functional Index scores as you go. It is for adults aged 18 and over.
Q: What is CBT for tinnitus?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the most evidence-based approaches for tinnitus management. It helps you reframe how your brain responds to tinnitus sounds, reducing the anxiety, stress, and sleep disruption that tinnitus often causes. Dr. Davis incorporates CBT-based strategies into tinnitus treatment at Apollo Audiology.
Q: Can hearing aids help with tinnitus?
For patients whose tinnitus is linked to hearing loss, hearing aids can provide significant relief. Many modern hearing aids include features that reduce the brain’s focus on the tinnitus signal. Dr. Davis will determine if hearing aids are the right fit during your evaluation.