During Assessment

The point of the assessment is to find out from you how tinnitus is affecting you now. However, it is important to place this in the context of your experience of tinnitus from when it began

So I will want to hear your 'story' and we will discuss this in some detail

The second part of the assessment is to quantify distress as it is now. For this, we will use clinical 'measures' in the form of questionnaires. There are 2 tinnitus distress measures: the THI (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory) and the TFI (Tinnitus Functional Index)

The other measures used are a screen questionnaire that identifies whether there is any significant anxiety or low mood/depression; where these are identifiable, we use the Beck Inventories for Anxiety and Depression (BAI and BDI)

It does not necessarily follow that someone with significant tinnitus distress also scores highly in the BAI or BDI; however, it is essential that if there is significant anxiety and/or depression, that it is identified at assessment and is treated through appropriate therapy as part of the process of tinnitus management

Finalising the Assessment

At the end of the assessment, I am able to advise on approximately how many sessions will be needed

On average, most of my patients need up to 12 sessions. This is up to 12 hours of appointments, over a period of 4-8 months and includes 'homework' involving using regular breath work and relaxation exercises (these reduce sympathic activity in the autonomic nervous system) and CBT-related homework from session 3-5 onwards

Patients with particularly complex needs (initial THI category 4 & 5 scores) are likely to need appointments over a period of 8 months, sometimes even up to a year

Where you wish to go ahead, we will book your first appointment - usually to begin the following week