Music therapy in tinnitus relieves symptoms

Treat with tinnitus using music therapy. The German Center for Music Therapy Research draws a positive balance: in around 80 percent of patients noticeably annoying ears and ear noise decreased.

20.01.2011

Many people suffer from a loud monotonous whistling or constant noise in the ear. Especially when it is quiet and quiet otherwise, tinnitus patients hear the subjectively experienced disturbing noises. There is still no uniform therapy, because the actual reasons for this nerve-wracking hallucination is still not fully understood. A study by the German Center for Music Therapy Research (DZM) shows that, for example, a music therapy can help alleviate the symptoms.

80 percent treatment success of music therapy
Many people learn over time to come to terms with the sounds of the ears. One goal is to ignore the sounds. For some years, the Heidelberg Music Therapy Museum has treated patients suffering from chronic tinnitus. Within five days, patients will continue to learn various active ways to actively influence the sounds in the form of ongoing compact therapy. According to the Center for Music Therapy Research, about 80 percent of participants achieved significant symptom relief through this method. Some even reported that the sounds in the ear disappeared 100 percent after therapy.

For the evaluation of the data a total of 189 former participants of the music therapy were interviewed, whose therapy time was about three years ago. For the survey, all study participants received a questionnaire, which was already part of the compact therapy week. About 50 percent of the former patients took part in the survey.

After the evaluation, the researchers found an overall improvement in tinnitus symptoms. After about three years after the end of treatment, the symptoms decreased on average by 20 percent. The affected persons were affected by strong and chronic ear noises, so the symptoms decreased by 12 percent, measured by a severity level. If the severity was less pronounced, the complaint improvement was about 20 percent.

Course of a tinnitus music therapy
During music therapy, the sounds and noises in the ear are musically taken up and processed. The sounds are adjusted according to the concept of the sequences of tinnitus tone. This results in a controllable hearing process for the patient. At the beginning of the treatment program, an individual similar sound or noise is produced for each participant using a synthesizer. This tone is then used musically active or receptive. Through various exercises, those affected will be able to control the disturbing tone in order to regulate it cognitively. In addition, brain areas are positively reactivated with targeted acoustic stimulation. If successful, this method will normalize the altered regions in the brain.

Almost 20 percent of Germans are affected
More than one million people in Germany are considered to be in need of treatment. Far more people, however, suffer from tinnitus sounds without resorting to therapy. Estimates assume that around 10 to 20 percent of the German population suffer from chronic tinnitus. Almost half of all Germans (40 percent) have ever heard ear noises. Two-thirds of all people over the age of 50 complain about persistent subjective sounds or are affected from time to time. Typically, suffering usually begins at this age. Women and men are equally affected. According to some studies, many researchers believe that the incidence of tinnitus has increased significantly in recent years in Western industrial nations. Therefore, some scientists already speak of a veritable „widespread disease“. So far, it is still controversial whether a total of more patients due to ear tones visit an ear, nose and throat doctor, or the number of those affected has actually increased.

Causes of tinnitus
Many researchers assume that the increasingly fast-paced society with its ever-increasing demands in private and professional life can be a trigger for the syndrome. During the day, people are always exposed to louder tones, stress and pressure to perform. If the organism settles down, many people find the noise and information problems difficult to digest. It comes to the typical noise in the ear. In this context, doctors also repeatedly point out that tinnitus can not be considered apart from the root causes, which is why tinnitus is not counted as a separate disease. Therefore, in a meaningful therapy, an overall picture of the patient must always be created.

In addition to the psychic components also organic diseases and infections come into question. Possible causes may be, for example, bacterial or viral infections of the middle ear, middle ear diseases with a disturbance of the sound transmission or also a previous hearing loss. If there is a chronic tinnitus, the affected suffer severe impairment in everyday life. This, in turn, can lead to other sequelae, such as depression, which result from sleep disturbances, phobias, and general attention impairments. (Sb)

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New tinnitus therapy developed
Psychotherapy for the treatment of tinnitus