Tinnitus treatment: state of the art.

Clinical and scientific research has opened up a wide range of options for treating patients with tinnitus. Many of these options are sophisticated and are delivered through specialist tinnitus clinics. However tinnitus is a very common complaint. Most patients with tinnitus need to be satisfactorily cared for by front line clinicians. This chapter describes how one clinician who has looked after some thousands of patients with tinnitus looks after them now. It describes the model I use to explain tinnitus to the patient and develop a management plan. It describes how I assess patients with tinnitus. It lists the treatment options available. It describes the management provided at the first (and usually only) encounter. It stresses the value of a written report. It describes further management and onward referral. It describes my use of drugs in those patients for whom the tinnitus remains overwhelming.