Tinnitus awareness week highlights new therapy helping Kentuckians cope with ringing in the ears

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – This week is Tinnitus Awareness Week, a time focused on educating people about the constant ringing, buzzing and roaring sounds that affect millions of Americans — and the new treatments helping people better cope with it.

Tinnitus is both an audiological and neurological condition, impacting more than 50 million adults across the country.

“Tinnitus ( ˈti-nə-təs), or you might have heard the word tinnitus (tə-ˈnī-təs), is any sound you hear that’s not part of your environment,” said Dr. Kari Wickstrom with Bluegrass Hearing Clinic. “So it can be a ringing or a buzzing, or any kind of roaring sound.”

Experts say tinnitus is often tied to hearing damage or hearing loss, when the brain tries to make up for sounds it’s no longer receiving.

“Most of the time tinnitus is related to auditory damage or difficulty hearing — your brain is trying to give you back something it’s missing,” Wickstrom explained.

According to the American Tinnitus Association, there is no scientifically validated cure for most types of tinnitus. But new approaches are helping patients manage the condition more effectively.

One of those is a new 12-week cognitive behavioral therapy program called Oto, which Wickstrom says focuses on the emotional response to tinnitus — not just the sound itself.

“Cognitive behavioral therapy is not always accessible, and even when it is, it’s not often geared directly toward tinnitus,” she said. “So it’s been really nice to be able to bring a tinnitus-geared treatment plan into play.”

For patient Lee Alan Judy, the program is already making a difference.

“It’s pretty simple — you just sit there and listen and go through what they try to tell you to do so you can project it out in your daily life,” Judy said. “So you try to calm your tinnitus down so it’s not so loud or forceful.”

He says the ringing used to be constant — even keeping him up at night.

Now, he notices it far less.

Wickstrom encourages anyone experiencing ongoing ringing in the ears or hearing trouble to get checked.

“If someone is showing signs of tinnitus or difficulty hearing, they should see an audiologist and get a hearing evaluation,” she said.

As Tinnitus Awareness Week continues, specialists hope increased awareness — and new treatment options — will help more people find relief from a condition that can feel overwhelming without support.