Ear noises can be very distressing. For international patients, we can bring noticeable relief in most cases – with many years of experience and modern therapies that are well supported by scientific evidence.
As former Chairman of a university ENT hospital, I take the time to understand your personal situation in detail. Your quality of life and your treatment success truly matter to us.
Yours, Prof. Dr. med. H.P. ZennerTinnitus Centre, private ENT clinic in Tübingen/Stuttgart
Tinnitus – tailored treatment
Tinnitus usually involves a complex process. Sometimes a specific cause can be found and treated in a targeted way. In other cases, the ear noise accompanies another condition that can itself be treated.
If no such cause is found, therapy targets the misregulated hypersensitivity or overactivity of the auditory system, which is to be turned down again in a targeted way. The aim: the noise recedes so far into the background of perception that it no longer interferes with everyday life. Experts speak of inhibition of overactivation, desensitisation or habituation.
Ear noises are often accompanied by other hearing problems, such as hearing loss or increased sensitivity to sound (Hyperacusis). Because such accompanying complaints further increase the burden, we include them in the treatment.
Stress, physical overexertion or strain on the cervical spine and jaw can also play a part. We assess these factors individually – for comprehensive and lasting treatment.
What is tinnitus?
Ear noises are common worldwide. In Germany alone, around three million people hear whistling, hissing or humming in their ears. About one in two of those affected feel considerably restricted in everyday life as a result.
If no sound source outside the body can be identified, this is called subjective tinnitus: the noise originates within the auditory system itself. Presumably, information in the ear or auditory nerve is processed incorrectly. This can trigger unwanted activations that gradually reinforce themselves.
Tinnitus is therefore a symptom affecting the entire auditory system – from the inner ear to the auditory centre in the brain.
Studies show that if a disorder of the ear persists for a longer time, the auditory centre can become overactive. This overactivity can become literally “burned in”, so that the brain continuously generates the ear noise itself.
In chronic tinnitus, this hypersensitivity or persistent misactivation remains.