Demystifying CBT as one of the Tinnitus Cures
A popular line from the classical play Romeo and Juliet purports, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.” There is an underlying truth to this statement and it applies to the case of tinnitus. Regardless of how the disorder is called—ear noise, head noise, subjective tinnitus, objective tinnitus, pulsatile tinnitus—it still comes down to the word annoying. Although it has been said that any person who is made to go inside a sound proof booth will hear a minor ringing sound making the disorder quite normal, for many, even during substantial environmental ruckus, the ringing noise can still be heard unmasked. This is what makes tinnitus debilitating by disrupting the peace of mind of afflicted people.
Despite the claims that tinnitus tends to abate with time, in most instances however, the noise is there to stay. This adds to the frustration felt by people as they wait in vain for the day where they finally are rid of the phantom noise they have to deal with. Thus, a more sustainable approach is to educate afflicted people to cope with the presence of the abnormal noise instead. This group of treatment for tinnitus is referred to as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and is considered as one of the effective tinnitus cures. The following are the commonly asked questions about CBT:
- What is CBT? This is a group of techniques used primarily by psychologists in their practice. It is based on the principle that you are what you think. Basically, the way people perceive themselves is translated into the physical and emotional dimensions of man. CBTs provide systematic and purposive ways of helping patients work toward positively varying their cognitions and emotions toward a certain condition which will be translated physically, allowing them to efficiently deal with the condition such as tinnitus.
- How does CBT work? Cognitive-behavioral therapy as one of the tinnitus cures borrows from various psychological techniques to empower the afflicted person to regain control over his or her life despite the presence of the annoying sound. Basically, people are taught that they can function efficiently even with the presence of the abnormally heard noise. In the long run, through the process of habituation, they become accustomed to the presence of the noise. However, if the person constantly views the noise as a source of irritation, he or she cannot move past the disruption to find ways to cope with it. Added to this is the improvement in how the individual perceives the severity of the condition because of the distress felt which compounds the condition.
- What are the components of CBT? CBT is composed of therapies geared to address maladaptive thoughts and behaviors through cognitive and behavioral therapies, respectively. In cognitive therapies, individuals are taught to convert negative thoughts into positive ones. For instance, instead of catastrophically thinking that tinnitus will ruin one’s life, the person is taught that the condition can be bearable through maximizing of one’s strengths. Behavioral therapies are geared toward reducing, if not eliminating, maladaptive behaviors to cope with tinnitus such as alcoholism.