Resources

Finding a health care professional

Because there are many different tinnitus treatment strategies, knowing what to do if you have tinnitus can be confusing. Make sure you turn to healthcare professionals who provide support, care, and compassion—and who know about and understand tinnitus.

The American Tinnitus Association maintains a listing of professionals who self-report their interest in treating tinnitus. "Self-report" means they submit a form that details what kinds of clinical services they offer. ATA has a good-faith policy that takes them at their word, and we don't attempt to verify what they report to us other than asking them to update their contact and service information once a year. Because of this, we don't offer a true referral service since we're not an organization that endows professional credentials. However, we provide a listing with contact information so that you can contact the professionals and interview them as potential caregivers. Suggested questions to ask are included in this section.

The ATA listing consists primarily of three different kinds of health professionals who deal specifically with hearing and tinnitus. The first, an ear, nose, and throat doctor—also known as an ENT or otolaryngologist—is a physician who performs medical tests and surgery, prescribes medicine, and screens for physiological causes. An audiologist is a hearing specialist with advanced degrees who performs all audiological tests and hearing evaluations. Most audiologists are licensed to dispense hearing aids, maskers, and tinnitus instruments. A hearing aid specialist is trained and licensed to fit hearing aids, maskers, and tinnitus instruments and to perform hearing tests.

This listing of professionals is available to patients who call the American Tinnitus Association at 800-634-8978, extension 219. It's also available online to ATA members who visit our members section.

Make sure you visit your health care professional with a complete written list of your symptoms, including descriptions of when your tinnitus started and/or is exacerbated. Also, be sure to share with him or her any previous hearing tests you may have had done and a list of ALL medications you are currently taking or have just recently taken. Finally, in addition to your own questions, here are other suggested questions for you to ask—remember to write down the answers.

To: Questions to ask your healthcare professional.

For more information please contact: Lisa Freeman, Manager of Member Services, 1–800-634-8978 Ext. 219 or lisa@ata.org