Tinnitus care that starts with understanding why it is affecting you
Tinnitus is not the same experience for everyone.
For some people it is a mild background sound. For others it becomes intrusive, exhausting or difficult to ignore.
Our role is to understand your individual presentation, investigate the factors that may be contributing to it, and help you work out what needs to happen next.
Understanding tinnitus
Tinnitus is a symptom, not a diagnosis
Tinnitus is the perception of sound when there is no external sound source present.
It may be experienced as ringing, buzzing, hissing, humming, roaring or another sound entirely.
It can be heard in one ear, both ears or in the head, and it may be constant or intermittent.
Hearing is only part of the picture
For many people, changes within the auditory system may contribute to the tinnitus signal. But whether tinnitus becomes intrusive is influenced by much more than hearing alone.
- ✓Hearing changes and noise exposure
- ✓Sound sensitivity / decreased sound tolerance
- ✓Attention to tinnitus
- ✓Emotional response and the meaning attached to tinnitus
- ✓Stress and nervous-system arousal
- ✓Sleep and fatigue
- ✓Jaw, neck or somatic factors
- ✓Medical or otological factors where relevant
Why individual assessment matters
No two people’s tinnitus is exactly the same
This is why tinnitus management should never be one-size-fits-all.
Two people may describe the same tinnitus sound but require completely different management.
Hearing may be the main factor
One person may primarily need hearing rehabilitation or support with listening difficulties.
Sound sensitivity may come first
Another person may have underlying sound sensitivity that needs to be addressed before anything else.
Sometimes clarity is enough
Some people simply need a thorough assessment, reassurance and a clear explanation of what is happening.
That is why we begin with understanding the individual rather than choosing a treatment before we know what may be contributing to, exacerbating or maintaining the symptoms.
Many people with tinnitus have heard this before — and are left wondering why they still have symptoms.
Looking beyond the basic audiogram
A normal hearing test does not always tell the whole story
A conventional hearing test usually measures hearing between 250 Hz and 8 kHz in a quiet environment.
That information is important, but it does not always explain tinnitus, difficulty hearing in noise or subtle changes in cochlear function.
Depending on your presentation, a specialist tinnitus assessment may also examine:
- ✓Extended high-frequency hearing
- ✓Speech in noise
- ✓Cochlear function test
- ✓Middle-ear function
- ✓Sound tolerance
- ✓Tinnitus pitch and loudness characteristics
- ✓ Assessment for possible hidden hearing loss or listening difficulties not reflected on a standard audiogram
The goal is not to perform every possible test. The goal is to choose the tests that help us understand your symptoms.
Medical investigation
Does tinnitus need medical investigation?
Most tinnitus is not caused by a serious medical condition.
However, some presentations should be investigated further. Depending on your symptoms and test results, we may recommend review by your GP, ENT specialist or another healthcare professional.
- Tinnitus affecting one ear only
- Sudden hearing changes
- Significant asymmetry between the ears
- Pulsatile tinnitus
- Dizziness or balance symptoms
- Neurological symptoms
- Unusual or rapidly changing symptoms
Where medical referral is appropriate, we will explain why and help guide the next step.
Our approach
We look at what may be contributing to, exacerbating or maintaining your tinnitus
No two tinnitus management plans are the same, because no two patients’ tinnitus is the same.
We begin with a detailed history of your tinnitus, hearing, sound tolerance, health and how your symptoms are affecting your day-to-day life.
We look for factors that may be contributing to, exacerbating or maintaining your tinnitus.
Once we understand the contributing factors, we work out what should be addressed first. If underlying sound sensitivity is present, that becomes the priority.
From there, we develop a personalised management plan and introduce strategies in the right order for your presentation.
Treatment and rehabilitation
Tinnitus treatment is not one treatment
There is no single therapy that is appropriate for everyone with tinnitus. Your management plan may include one or several approaches.
Education & reassurance
Understanding what tinnitus is, why it changes and what your assessment results mean can reduce uncertainty and fear.
Hearing rehabilitation
When hearing loss is contributing to tinnitus, improving access to sound may reduce listening effort and make tinnitus less prominent.
Sound therapy
Sound may be used strategically to reduce contrast with tinnitus, support habituation or improve sound tolerance.
Selected tinnitus therapies
Additional options when clinically appropriate
Some people benefit from more structured tinnitus rehabilitation or device-based therapies. These are not automatically recommended. The right option depends on your assessment findings, sound tolerance, tinnitus profile, goals and individual needs.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
TRT combines structured counselling with sound therapy to reduce the negative reaction to tinnitus and support habituation over time. It may be particularly relevant for persistent tinnitus and decreased sound tolerance.
CBT-informed strategies
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy principles can help reduce tinnitus-related distress, change unhelpful reactions and beliefs, and build practical coping strategies. These techniques may be used within audiological care or alongside psychological support.
Sleep, stress & multidisciplinary care
Sleep, stress and other contributing factors can affect tinnitus severity and intrusiveness. Management may include targeted strategies or collaboration with GPs, ENTs, psychologists, physiotherapists or other clinicians.
Lenire
Lenire combines sound stimulation with gentle electrical stimulation of the tongue. It may be considered for selected people with bothersome tinnitus after appropriate assessment. Suitability depends on your tinnitus presentation, medical history and individual treatment goals.
Neuromonics
Neuromonics combines individually tailored acoustic stimulation with structured tinnitus counselling. The program is designed to reduce the prominence and disturbance of tinnitus over time and may be appropriate for selected patients as part of a broader rehabilitation plan.
Oritone Tinnitus Therapy
Oritone uses personalised broadband sound therapy based on the individual’s hearing and tinnitus profile. It provides another option for structured sound therapy when clinically appropriate. It is not a cure, and treatment response varies between individuals.
An important point
Not everyone needs ongoing tinnitus treatment
For many people, the most useful part of specialist tinnitus care is simply a thorough assessment, a clear explanation and a personalised management plan.
You may leave the initial appointment with everything you need to begin managing your symptoms independently.
If you need more support, ongoing care is available.
We do not automatically enrol every patient into a long treatment program or recommend a device simply because one exists.
Specialist tinnitus care
More than simply listing “tinnitus” as a service
Tinnitus is commonly listed as a service by hearing clinics, but specialist tinnitus care requires additional knowledge and training beyond routine hearing assessment.
Laura has undertaken additional postgraduate and tinnitus-specific training in assessment and rehabilitation, including Tinnitus Retraining Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and is currently completing her Doctor of Audiology through A.T. Still University.
Recommendations are based on clinical research and your individual presentation.
Clear advice. Realistic expectations.
There are no guaranteed cures, miracle devices or one-size-fits-all solutions.
You can expect clear explanations, realistic expectations and evidence-based recommendations — not sales claims.
What helped someone else may not be the right approach for you. The assessment helps us work out what is appropriate for your presentation.
Professional referrals
Already seeing an audiologist or ENT specialist?
You do not need to transfer your routine hearing care to access specialist tinnitus services.
Adelaide Tinnitus Clinic accepts referrals from audiologists, GPs, ENT specialists and other healthcare professionals for tinnitus and sound-sensitivity assessment.
Bring existing information with you
If you already have recent hearing results or relevant medical reports, please bring them with you.
Where appropriate, we can provide findings and management recommendations back to your referring clinician.
Your next step
Start with the assessment. Then we decide what comes next.
Your tinnitus assessment gives us the information we need to understand your hearing, sound tolerance, tinnitus profile and the factors that may be contributing to or maintaining your symptoms.
We do not choose a tinnitus treatment first and try to fit you into it. We assess first, identify what needs attention, and then decide whether further treatment is needed at all.
Comprehensive Tinnitus Assessment
This is the recommended starting point if we have not assessed your tinnitus before.
Our tinnitus assessment goes beyond a routine hearing test. It includes a detailed case history and specialist testing selected according to your symptoms, so we can understand what may be contributing to your tinnitus and develop a personalised management plan.
For many people, this may be all they need to begin managing their symptoms.
Tinnitus Assessment →Follow-Up & Tinnitus Management
If you need further support, your next appointment is based on what we found during your assessment.
This might involve education, sound therapy, hearing rehabilitation, CBT-informed strategies, Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, device-based therapy, referral to another clinician — or simply reviewing how you are progressing.
There is no automatic treatment pathway. Your next step is chosen for you, based on your assessment findings.
Tinnitus Management →
Already had extensive tinnitus testing elsewhere?
Bring any recent audiology, ENT or relevant medical reports with you.
We can review what has already been completed and determine whether any
additional assessment is actually needed.
Yes, something can be done.
The first step is understanding what is happening.
For many people, a comprehensive tinnitus assessment and personalised management plan provide the clarity and practical strategies they need.
If further treatment is appropriate, we will explain your options and help you decide what comes next.