Tinnitus includes a wide variety of perceived noises, ranging from ringing or low roars to high-pitched beeps. Although sometimes a treatable medical cause can be found, said Jastreboff, in most cases there is no explanation for the incessant noise. The key, he explained, is retraining how the brain perceives and reacts to tinnitus. It becomes something they hardly recognize. First, patients are carefully screened by an otologist or otolaryngologist.
Many patients use two inconspicuous, small sound generators either in or behind the ear.
The sound generators gently retrain the perception and reaction of people to tinnitus. The result is not a cure, but relief. People who have tinnitus no longer are bothered by it in the vast majority of cases. The treatment usually is required for about a year and a half, and according to Jastreboff, relapse is rare. About 40 percent of the time tinnitus is accompanied by hyperacusis, a hypersensitivity or even painful response to sound.