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Other Approaches
Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment (NTT) is a habituation-oriented approach that, like Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), combines sound therapy and counseling. For the sound therapy component of NTT, the patient listens to one of four specific tracks of "spectrally enhanced" two to four hours a day, music that is altered at various frequencies in accordance with the patient's audiogram. Neuromonics was originally designed to be largely technology-driven; however, it quickly became apparent to experienced clinicians that without purposeful counseling results were falling short of the desired goal.
Tinnitus Activities Treatment (TAT) was developed by Dr. Rich Tyler and his colleagues at the University of Iowa. TAT employs a series of modules on thoughts and emotions, hearing, sleep, and concentration. The sound therapy involves low-level partial masking. The counseling is picture-based and collaborative.
Tinnitus is currently the number one service-connected disability for US Veterans. Progressive Tinnitus Management (PTM) is a stepped-care program developed by Dr. James Henry and his colleagues at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Officially approved for use throughout the VA healthcare system, PTM is a multidisciplinary approach offering five levels of clinical services dictated by tinnitus severity. The focus of intervention with PTM is to teach self-management skills so that patients learn how to manage their own reactions to tinnitus, for a lifetime if necessary.
Mindfulness-Based Tinnitus Stress Reduction (MBTSR) uses principles first espoused by Jon Kabat-Zinn with an eye towards mitigating the effects of tinnitus upon the individual.