Current Management of Chronic Tinnitus in a Multidisciplinary Approach

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Although tinnitus is a common condition, affecting almost 15% of the population, and despite numerous research advances in recent years, tinnitus remains a scientific enigma and is still difficult to treat in daily clinical practice. Tinnitus is known to be a heterogeneous condition, both in terms of manifestation and onset, and this lecture will inform on the concept of a multidisciplinary approach to tinnitus management. As the challenges of modern tinnitus management are not covered by a single specialty, close collaboration between specialties is important. The core competencies of a multidisciplinary tinnitus clinic (otology, audiology, psychiatry and psychotherapy, neuroradiology, physiotherapy, dentistry) allow for individualized and step-by-step diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic treatment. The presentation will highlight state-of-the-art methods of history taking (questionnaires), audiologic assessment and neuroradiologic measurements, with a special focus on screening for psychiatric comorbidity. The heterogeneity culminates in the challenge for tinnitus treatment: a uniformly effective treatment for all tinnitus patients is unlikely. An individualized treatment plan must be developed for each patient, taking into account the patient's tinnitus profile, comorbidity, psychological distress and previous treatment experience. This presentation will provide an overview of the most important aspects of today's therapeutic management of tinnitus. Innovative treatment concepts from neuromodulation will also be presented, although these have not yet been conclusively assessed in terms of their long-term effectiveness. Finally, phrases such as "you just have to live with it" should be avoided and, on the other hand, hope, encouragement and realistic expectations of the course of treatment should be given to those affected.