The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Conquering the ringing sound, the TRT way

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 09, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Conquering the ringing sound, the TRT way

By K. Venkateshwarlu

HYDERABAD, JAN. 8. Are you troubled by incessant ringing or buzzing sound in your ear? Then you belong to the increasing tribe of typically urban patients suffering from intractable tinnitus, often caused by exposure to noise from heavy traffic on roads to high decibel music in concerts.

"The irritating ringing sound drives people crazy, pushing up anxiety and depression levels. So much so that there have been instances of people attempting suicide and quitting professional careers, unable to cope with tinnitus. There is hope for such patients from Tinnutus Retraining Therapy (TRT). If not total cure, their comfort level is bound to go up," says Prakash Kumar, senior audiologist and speech therapist from Durgapur in West Bengal. He is among a few specialists in the country to use TRT.

Patients' woes

Mr. Kumar, who is here attending the 57th Association of Otolaryngologists of India Conference (AOICON), told The Hindu that people suffering from tinnitus have morbid life- threatening fear stoked by misconceptions. The common refrain is to link the ringing problem to malfunction of the brain and give it up. Such patients have low self-esteem and sleep disorders.

But the causes range from exposure to excessive noise, working in noisy surroundings for several years to leisure time activities like playing musical instruments, especially among people hyper sensitive to certain sounds. Yet two people with similar symptoms react differently. It could even be triggered by a single-shot exposure to loud noise like explosion or gunshot fired close to the ear.

Tinnitus cannot be cured by medicine or surgery, he contends. The therapy thus focuses on training and raising the tolerance level of the patient to sounds to which he is sensitive and make him comfortable. In 10 to 15 sittings, each lasting 45 minutes, the patient is made to go through a range of simple exercises. These include counting backwards, relaxation session, infusing positive thoughts, challenging the mind and tuning the brain to conquer emotions and get rid of the very suggestion that the ringing problem is there. "The TRT has worked wonders in many patients", he adds.

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