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Semin Hear 2001; 22(1): 051-064
DOI: 10.1055/s-2001-13020
Copyright © 2001 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel.: +1(212) 584-4662

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy

Pawel J. Jastreboff, Margaret M. Jastreboff
  • Tinnitus & Hyperacusis Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, and Department of Otolaryngology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
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Publication History

Publication Date:
31 December 2001 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) helps tinnitus patients by offering the possibility of successful habituation of tinnitus-induced reactions and the habituation of tinnitus perception. TRT presumably induces and sustains plastic changes in the neuronal networks within the auditory system, and its connection with the limbic and autonomic nervous systems, but it does not remove the tinnitus signal. Reports from a number of centers around the world indicate high levels of effectiveness of this method. There is still an ongoing discussion regarding TRT's efficacy and the relative contribution of its components. This article attempts to summarize the basis of TRT and its foundations on the neurophysiologic model of tinnitus. Additionally, some questions and concerns related to the method are addressed.

KEYWORD

Tinnitus - hyperacusis habituation - TRT - stochastic resonance

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