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UNE researchers aim to ease distress of tinnitus

February 27, 2006

Ms Caroline Croft, Professor Bill Noble and Dr Rhonda BrownPsychologists at The University of New England are developing new ways of helping sufferers cope with the common condition of tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

They believe that the most effective treatments for discomfort or distress caused by this chronic condition will involve helping people to adapt to it.

“It’s usually not possible to get rid of the internal noise,” explained UNE researcher Caroline Croft. “For some people, current treatments may maintain a struggle against the noise; that’s not good, because they can then become more and more sensitised to it. Our aim is to improve our understanding of how people can – and do – learn to live with it.”

Tinnitus affects about 15 per cent of the population, and between one and two per cent of those people suffer severely from it. “It can affect people’s sleep, work, and social lives,” Ms Croft said. “Some sufferers get so distressed they become suicidal.”

She pointed out that the degree of distress caused by tinnitus seems to be related more to psychological factors than to the severity of the symptom itself. “We can match the pitch, type of sound, and loudness of the noises people hear,” she said, “and we find that there is no correlation between those measurements and the distress they are suffering. Some people experience very loud noise, but say it doesn’t really bother them.”

Those who suffer most, she said, get into a “feedback loop”, in which their discomfort or distress causes them to be increasingly aware of – and, therefore, increasingly distressed by – the noise. “We’re developing techniques that will help them to break that loop,” she continued.

The UNE researchers – Ms Croft, Professor Bill Noble, and Dr Rhonda Brown – have begun a survey of people with tinnitus. The survey will provide them with a wealth of information on how people experience the condition, and the factors that help or hinder them in coping with it. “We want to hear from people who are not distressed by their tinnitus, as well as those who are,” Ms Croft explained. “In this way, we’ll be able to track the stages that people go through in learning to live with it.” The team is hoping to involve about 500 people in the survey; those interested in participating (or anyone who would like information sent to them or to someone they know who suffers from tinnitus) should phone Ms Croft on (02) 6773 5017 or e-mail her at: cruming2@une.edu.au.

The survey will enable the researchers to test their hypotheses about the key factors involved in distress from – and adaptation to – the condition. The results could help doctors, audiologists and psychologists in identifying those patients who are likely to suffer most severely. Ultimately, the researchers hope to be able to carry out trials of new treatment procedures they develop with the help of the survey information.


The photograph of the tinnitus research team displayed here, showing (from left) Ms Caroline Croft, Professor Bill Noble and Dr Rhonda Brown, is available at:
http://photodatabase.une.edu.au/albums/incoming/2006/MISCELLANEOUS/Tinnitus%20research.jpg

Posted by Jim Scanlan at February 27, 2006 12:04 PM