Selecting a Health Professional: Questions & Suggestions

Consider the following suggestions when selecting a health care professional, including questions to ask, and then work with that professional to find the treatment or combination of treatments that works best for you. Regardless of which treatment you choose, your first step when making a health care decision should be to receive medical and audiological evaluations.

Some questions to ask when selecting a healthcare professional:

Which tinnitus treatments do you use in your practice – and why?
Look for a healthcare professional who is aware of effective treatment options, but who also wants to find the treatment most appropriate for you. Some professionals may have very good reasons for offering certain treatments, but not others, in their practices. Listen to their experiences with different treatments. Do they specialize in a particular treatment?

What is the success rate of the proposed treatment?
A high success rate does not necessarily mean that a certain treatment is for you, but it could help you select appropriate care. Consider how different treatments might work in combination with each other. Does the healthcare professional have ideas about why a specific treatment might work well for you? If the healthcare professional offers a complete cure of your tinnitus, you may have cause for your concern. Instead, find out potential benefits of different treatments: relief, lessening of tinnitus, habituation, etc.

What is the definition of success?
Since there are many different strategies for relief, you may want to find a professional who has suggestions on successful and realistic goals for you. Is success complete habituation, noticeable relief, better coping capacity or something else?

What tests do you require or suggest?
Your healthcare professional should have different ways to evaluate you, your hearing and your tinnitus. Find out what he or she suggests – and what each of the tests are supposed to reveal.

Are you a member of the American Tinnitus Association?
As members, health professionals receive the ATA magazine, Tinnitus Today, which helps to keep them up to date on the latest research and treatment news.

Questions to discuss on your first visit with your new healthcare professional:

What are the risks or side effects of this treatment, test or medication?
Treatments can affect you in different ways. Often, just knowing in advance what you should expect from your treatment will help you to respond more favorably. Be sure to ask what/why/how and insist on clear answers. And ask about the risks and benefits of different tests.

When can I expect to see results?
Some treatments take longer than others. Understand the timeline for results and make certain you understand and can follow your healthcare professional’s instructions. Take notes!

How much will my tinnitus evaluation cost?
How much will tinnitus devices cost if they are recommended? Because insurance coverage can vary considerably, ask your health professional for the costs of treatment. He or she may not be able to give you an exact figure, but together you can estimate costs for your treatment and discuss coverage with your health plan.

Things to do on your own to help or improve your tinnitus:

• Keep a log of what helps and what worsens your tinnitus – including foods, medications and stress. Try modifications where necessary.
• Maintain a file of all visits to healthcare professionals and the services you received.
• Research other sources of professional information, like the American Medical Association’s “AMA Physician Select,” the American Board of Medical Specialties or your state’s medical licensing board.
• Join a tinnitus support group led by a knowledgeable facilitator.
• Join the American Tinnitus Association.

ATA's Health Professional Listing is offered as a resource to help you make successful healthcare choices. This Listing should be considered a “starting point” rather than any kind of referral list. The individuals on our Listing have indicated to ATA that they are interested in providing services and treatments to tinnitus patients. Whether or not a particular professional or treatment is right for you depends on many factors – and different treatments work for different people. ATA makes no recommendations or representations as to the individuals listed or to their respective treatments. ATA members can access this list immediately online by logging into the Members Section. You can also email tinnitus@ata.org for a listing of health professionals in your area.

Other Search Options: If you do not find a health care resource nearby, you may wish to consult search engines operated by professional trade associations. The American Academy of Otolaryngology, American Speech-Language Hearing Association and the American Academy of Audiology all maintain searchable listings of professionals. Note: ATA cannot vouch for the tinnitus-related services offered by health care professionals on these sites. Remember to ask any potential hearing health care provider about their experience with tinnitus evaluations and treatments. Because there are many different tinnitus treatment strategies, knowing what to do if you have tinnitus can be confusing. Make sure you turn to health care professionals who provide support, care and compassion - and who know about and understand tinnitus.