Tinnitus Care

Tinnitus Care

Manage your reaction to ringing in the ears with talk therapy options and hearing aid technology.

Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Services

The Audiology Clinic of Northern Alberta is the leader in emerging therapies for tinnitus, hyperacusis and misophonia. Using in-depth interviews, our audiologists determine the best strategies, therapies, or devices to manage the impacts that you experience on your quality of life. Tinnitus is a hearing condition that is often described as a constant ringing in the ears. Hyperacusis is an abnormal sensitivity to sounds, and misophonia is a sensitivity to certain sounds. These conditions are experienced in vastly different ways, and the treatment options are customized accordingly. Contact us for more information on our tinnitus care services.

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Comprehensive Assessments

The foundation for our care is comprehensive testing. If you experience tinnitus or hyperacusis, the goal of our hearing tests is to determine the causes and nature of your challenges.

Hearing Aids

Hearing loss is often associated with tinnitus, but that is not always the case. Hearing aids can assist in amplifying sounds to offset tinnitus and cope with the presence of unwanted ringing.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Tinnitus

CBT for tinnitus can assist with creating strategies to manage the unpleasant thoughts and feelings you have about your tinnitus. This is an emerging approach to better understand and manage how your mind reacts to tinnitus and hyperacusis.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

Tinnitus retraining therapy can assist with coping with the condition if you have normal hearing or if you have hearing loss and attempted to manage tinnitus with hearing aids. Tinnitus retraining therapy combines counselling and sound therapy to manage the impacts of tinnitus and hyperacusis over time. 

We Also Help With Hearing Care

Understand, address and prevent challenges with your hearing.

Hearing Care

I developed tinnitus very suddenly in October of 2013. After doing some extensive research online I discovered that the Audiology Clinic of Northern Alberta has audiologists that specialize in this. Testing determined that I had a high tone hearing loss, so I was provided with hearing aids (that are virtually invisible). Since wearing these I am no longer aware of the incessant ringing in my ears. My quality of life has improved immensely.

Janice, Edmonton

Tinnitus Care Resources

Understanding Tinnitus

28 May, 2021
Tinnitus is a common condition that is reported to affect between 12% to 30% of the global population. Many individuals that experience tinnitus are not bothered by tinnitus sounds and do not require additional intervention. For others, it can have a negative impact on quality of life. If you feel like you are being affected by your tinnitus, the following information may help to guide you in deciding what to do next. It is important to know that if you just recently acquired tinnitus, there is a chance that your tinnitus may resolve by itself or reduce in intensity or frequency. While tinnitus is commonly associated with hearing loss, it is not typically associated with other underlying physical problems. A hearing assessment is often recommended to test for hearing loss or check for any potential problems with auditory function. Tinnitus symptoms are often exacerbated by stress or loud noises. Some individuals can link the onset of their tinnitus to a specific episode of loud noise exposure or stressful period in their life. Effective management of stressors can help to reduce the prominence of tinnitus. If you feel like your tinnitus symptoms are affecting your quality of life and ability to perform daily functions (for example, maintaining regular sleeping patterns), then you may benefit from professional help. If you feel that you require professional help to manage your tinnitus, there are several strategies that the audiologists at the Audiology Clinic of Northern Alberta can offer to help with tinnitus management. We prefer to assess individuals on a case-by-case basis and recommend that you start by scheduling a diagnostic hearing assessment with one of our qualified clinicians . After the assessment, your clinician can review and make an appropriate recommendation. Possible management strategies may include the use of self-help materials, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, Audiologist-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Tinnitus Management, Sound Therapy, hearing loss rehabilitation or referral to other medical professionals. To book an appointment, please call the Audiology Clinic of Northern Alberta at 780-900-5127. In some exceedingly rare cases, medical follow-up may be required if your tinnitus coincides with any of the follow symptoms: Injury or trauma to your body and/or head Weakness or paralysis of any muscles in the face Sudden unexplained hearing loss in one or both ears Vertigo (the feeling that the room is moving or spinning) Ear pain or drainage from your ears If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, please see your physician.

How Hearing Aids Help with Tinnitus

28 May, 2021
Often when a hearing loss is diagnosed, the damage to the ear is the usually the trigger that has caused the onset of tinnitus. Many people find success in adopting the idea of masking the tinnitus with “sounds.” This includes using hearing aids to amplify normal sounds. The idea is to cover-up (or mask) the tinnitus . When there is damage to the auditory system, hearing aids amplify the sounds outside of the ear and then help cover up the sound of the tinnitus. It is important to note that it does not cure tinnitus. It will still be present while wearing hearing aids, but the tinnitus may be reduced or masked completely. If regular amplification from hearing aids does not reduce the tinnitus to the desired level, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) is another option. This is a method where a person will still be amplified with hearing aids or sound generators (if a person experiences tinnitus but has normal hearing). The objective of TRT is to help the person habituate tinnitus through counselling, sound and time. Counselling Counselling will teach you how to cope and live with the tinnitus in a more positive manner by educating you on the auditory system and the role the brain has in tinnitus perception. Sounds Using hearing aids or ear level sound generators, your auditory system will be stimulated with sound. When the auditory system is stimulated with environmental sounds, it reduces the ability of the auditory system to be as focused on the actual tinnitus. Time TRT takes time to adjust. Each person that suffers from tinnitus will take different amounts of time to adapt to this changed perception of their tinnitus. But the end goal is to perceive their tinnitus in a more positive manner and better cope with the tinnitus. This acclimatization process will not happen overnight and will take some time to adjust.

  • How common is tinnitus?

    Tinnitus is a common condition that is reported to affect up to 30% of the global population. Many individuals that experience tinnitus are not bothered by tinnitus sounds and do not require intervention. For others, it can have a negative impact on their quality of life.  

  • How bad should my tinnitus be before I consider help?

    If you feel like your tinnitus symptoms are affecting your quality of life and ability to perform daily functions (for example, maintaining regular sleeping patterns), then you may benefit from professional help. 


    We recommend seeing a hearing professional if you notice ringing in your ears. A hearing test will review the health of your ears and give you a baseline to compare in the future. 

  • Is there a cure for tinnitus?

    No, there isn’t a cure for tinnitus. Current best practices to help manage tinnitus include counselling and talk therapy to improve acceptance and neutralize the annoyance of the tinnitus signal. If hearing loss is present, the use of hearing aids can also help reduce the annoyance of tinnitus. If your tinnitus is not impacting your quality of life, a diagnostic hearing assessment will inform you about the integrity of your auditory system and ensure that you do not need medical intervention for your tinnitus. If your tinnitus is not impacting your quality of life, this is good news! This is the result that current tinnitus management strategies are trying to achieve.

Start with a Hearing Test

Book an appointment for a hearing test and explore your options. 

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