What a Tinnitus Assessment Involves - Tinnitus Management

Tinnitus Management

Tinnitus Management

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Tinnitus Assessment

What to expect

The initial assessment is extensive, rarely takes less than 90 minutes and most commonly is up to 2 hours. It includes validated questionnaire measures including the THI (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory) and TFI (Tinnitus Functional Index) as well as measures for anxiety and mood. Where hyperacusis is part of the problem, a hearing sensitivity questionnaire is also used.

Working with me one-to-one

Subsequent appointments are each approximately one hour, and there is work to undertake between appointments. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is standard and the complete intervention is completed over 12 sessions on average. Where individuals require more than 12 sessions, they receive them at NO ADDITIONAL COST. Final measures are undertaken routinely at the final appointment

UK fees:
Assessment £175.00
Course of treatment £940.00


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

Measures used at assessment

THI (Tinnitus Handicap Inventory)
TFI (Tinnitus Functional Index)
*BAI (Beck Anxiety Inventory)
*BDI (Beck Depression Inventory)
**HSQ (Khalfa Hearing Sensitivity Questionnaire)

*Used where significant anxiety or depression is indicated
** Used where hyperacusis (over-sensitivity to noise) is indicated

Contact details:

Debbie Featherstone debbie@debbiefeatherstone.com
For enquiries about the CBT for Tinnitus E-Programme cbt@tinnituseprogram.org

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

Tinnitus Management

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