How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Works To Treat Tinnitus
CBT Is An Evidence-Based Treatment for Tinnitus
Whether it's a constant presence or an intermittent annoyance, when tinnitus becomes a constant companion, it can wreak havoc on your mood, concentration, and sleep. Learn how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you manage your symptoms and improve your overall well-being from a therapist specializing in CBT for tinnitus.
What Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is commonly described as a subjective ringing sound, but some people experience it as buzzing, clicking, or roaring. For some individuals, symptoms fluctuate. For others, it is constant. If the condition persists longer than three months, it is considered chronic.
How Is Tinnitus Tied To Mental Health?
When the condition does become chronic, it is no longer just a physical nuisance.
For many people, these unwanted, intense, and recurring auditory experiences can lead to distress. Having tinnitus can impact your mood, ability to concentrate, and your ability to get a good night’s sleep. When the condition feels helpless, it can lead to heightened anxiety, depression, or a sense of loss – particularly loss of the life you had prior to developing the condition.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Is The Recommended Treatment Of Choice For Tinnitus
In the absence of a cure, there is a highly desirable approach to managing tinnitus that involves improving the well-being of those with the condition. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are evidence-based treatments that target negative thoughts, avoidance behaviors, and the negative relationship to the condition that actually maintains it.
Instead, CBT for tinnitus promotes acceptance, exposure, mindful attending, flexible thinking, and value-driven action. These key ingredients in CBT and ACT essentially allow individuals to habituate to the symptoms to attain relief.
The American Tinnitus Association recognizes CBT and ACT as powerful evidence-based interventions that help reduce tinnitus distress.
Habituation To Tinnitus
Habituation is a process through which our brain stops responding to the sounds of tinnitus as something threatening and instead learns to interpret those sounds as neutral. As the brain stops responding to these signals as dangerous, the actual symptoms of tinnitus become less severe.
Habituation to tinnitus is actually a process that promotes neuroplasticity – the rewiring of the brain.
How does this work? Research shows that the course of tinnitus and the distress it creates is directly tied to how a person responds to the tinnitus.
If a person with chronic tinnitus is constantly trying to fight the condition with negative thinking, hypervigilance to the symptoms, and avoidance behaviors, it tends to reinforce the brain’s alarm system – making the subjective experience worse. Through the process of habituation, one’s emotional reaction and overall awareness of the presence of tinnitus symptoms tends to fade.
Habituation to tinnitus proves effective by breaking the cycle of distress that perpetuates the condition. When symptoms are no longer interpreted as intrusive, loud, and emotionally all-consuming, you can feel a sense of liberation and relief. Most importantly, you can return to your regular activities without letting tinnitus hold you back from enjoying life.
CBT of Central and South Florida Offers CBT For Tinnitus
Our therapists offer CBT for tinnitus to empower individuals with tools to navigate the challenges of living with tinnitus. Take the first step towards managing your condition by requesting a consultation today. Virtual and in-person sessions are available in Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Coral Gables.