Tinnitus therapy retraining is a habitual procedure intended to manage tinnitus or ringing ears and give hope to tinnitus patients if they take time and effort in learning and executing it. This innovative technique has a success rate of 80%. The basis of this therapy is to prove that an individual can ignore any distracting sound or tinnitus. Patients are usually counseled to understand how combining tinnitus therapy retraining and sound enrichment can put an end to negative reaction to tinnitus sounds. A noise generator is used provide a background noise level. Actually, positive results may be felt within the first eighteen months of the therapy.

tinnitus therapy retraining

In simple analogy, a person living in a noisy environment e.g. near an airport usually gets used to the noise and would not notice it unless someone points it out. But if an individual from a quiet environment is introduced to a noisy environment, he or she will be disturbed by the noise. This implies that a person living in a noisy environment all the time his or her brain gives no meaning to the sound other than a noise hence this sound becomes meaningless to the brain. This means that the brain no longer reacts negatively to the ear noise and actually tunes out the sound in auditory habituation function of the brain. This concept of the brain functionality is similar to that used in tinnitus therapy retraining.

Knowledge of the whole process of how tinnitus therapy retraining works is pertinent on the part of the patient since the success of the whole process is dependent on the patient’s individual effort. For patients wishing to undergo this therapy, a basic understanding of risk hazards of auditory cortex and how it subconsciously perceives wound from auditory neuronal networks is mandatory. This is the only way a patient will have an understanding how the brain will desist from reacting negatively to ear noise or ringing ears or tinnitus and allow auditory habituation.


The first step involves listening to full audio spectrum white noise constantly that is digitally created as MP3 on CD. The sound level is maintained below the ear noise to make the ear noise less perceptible. This sound also causes the elasticity of the brain to increase inhibiting any emotional response. Consequently, this conditions auditory habituation. The patient’s cooperation is imperative in this process as well as his or her belief in the whole technique as this only can hold him or her back to successfully go through it. Faith in this therapy combined with an intelligent understanding of the various functions of the brain usually gives positive result to the patient in this therapy.

For the tinnitus therapy retraining to run smoothly, the patient needs to be medically fit. Eating balanced diet, adopting positive lifestyle changes, having a regular exercise routine, taking relaxation therapies such as meditation and avoiding stressful situations especially at home and workplace will maintain the body to recommended fitness level such that its response to stimuli will be considerably fast.