CHAPTER ELEVEN
What to Expect from
Your Physician and Other Healthcare Professionals
Tanit Ganz Sanchez, MD, PhD

Tinnitus is a symptom and not a single disease! It might have one of many contributing causes. Additionally, people react quite differently to their tinnitus, and you probably have already noticed it.

Two individuals with the same age and gender, the same degree of hearing loss, and even the same loudness of tinnitus, might have different causes. The identification of these different factors related to tinnitus is important in order to choose the adequate treatment. The complexity of tinnitus, as well as the complexity of our human nature, means that a wide range of healthcare professionals might be able to help. The management of tinnitus patients often demands a deep evaluation and treatment by a team of professionals. The otolaryngologist is the core physician of this team, and should act in accordance with the other professionals.

This chapter reviews the roles of such professionals and what you should expect from each of them. First, we suggest some information that would be helpful to prepare you before visiting them.

Physicians are trained in medicine to diagnose and treat health conditions throughout your body. They provide prescription of medications and can perform surgery that should be needed. A general practitioner focuses on general healthcare. The physician who concentrates on your ears, nose and throat is called an otolaryngologist. Those that specialize in the ear are referred to as an otologist. The otolaryngologist must identify all the different factors that might be related to your tinnitus and provide a diagnosis. The identification of each of these factors related to your tinnitus could be a key point for the success of the treatment.

Although usually not the case, your tinnitus might be related to some other illness. If the other illness is treated, your tinnitus might improve. The factors that might indirectly affect the ear or the brain include metabolic (disturbances in processes involved in providing energy and maintaining the functions of cells and systems throughout the body), pharmacological (when some medicines and drugs influence your tinnitus), cardiovascular (when heart and blood vessels are involved), neurological, dental and psychological diseases. In some special cases, vascular and muscular structures related to the head and neck region might be involved. There might even be more than one possible cause or factor related to the tinnitus. Keep in mind that the identification of such factors or combination of factors in your case is fundamental for choosing the best treatment and for the success of therapy. So, the physician is a detective, trying to gather enough clues to find “which factors might be guilty.”