We are counting down to Tinnitus Awareness Week which will take place from Monday 6th until Sunday 12th February 2012. Lots of requests for information are coming in and various events and information displays will be promoting tinnitus awareness throughout the week.

The 2012 campaign will aim to encourage better tinnitus awareness among primary care practitioners and GPs, as well as among the general public.

We will be striving to ensure that primary care practitioners are able to gain an improved understanding about tinnitus and of the services available in secondary care. As part of Tinnitus Awareness Week, we have produced ‘Top Ten Tinnitus Tips for GPs’, which is available to download from www.tinnitus.org.uk/TAW2012. Members of the public are being encouraged to use and share this with their local GPs to encourage improved awareness and understanding of tinnitus.

A recent study into the practice of care for tinnitus among General Practitioners[1] in England identified that many GPs have an unmet need for specific GP training on tinnitus management. The BTA believes this situation is leading to inconsistent and inadequate advice being given to tinnitus patients throughout the country, and is resulting in widespread dissatisfaction and unnecessary distress among many of the 10% of the population who experience tinnitus.

David Stockdale, CEO of the British Tinnitus Association, said: “Thousands of tinnitus patients are being short-changed by their GPs. They are being either completely dismissed, told to ‘learn to live with’ the condition and are being given inaccurate information, or are not being referred to tinnitus clinics for specialist care. Tinnitus is poorly-understood among many primary care practitioners, and we aim to readdress this problem during our Tinnitus Awareness Week campaign so that more tinnitus patients are given accurate advice and are referred to authoritative information widely available via the BTA, the NHS and other sources.”

We are also working closely with tinnitus and ENT experts, and are encouraging representatives from Audiology Departments to host meetings/seminars for GPs which would then allow audiology professionals to inform GPs about the services available at their hospital. They are also being encouraged to attend GPs meetings to promote their hospital’s tinnitus service.

While there is currently no cure for tinnitus, we can assist those who experience with free support and advice. The BTA helps thousands of people each year via our freephone helpline (0800 018 0527), and through the provision of information which includes updates on the latest clinical research into the causes and treatment of tinnitus and behavioural techniques which can help to alleviate the condition.

 

Study details - [1] Suliman K. El-Shunnar MRCS, Derek J. Hoare PhD, Sandra Smith BSc, Phillip E. Gander PhD, Sujin Kang MA, Kathryn Fackrell and Deborah A. Hall PhD), ‘Primary care for tinnitus: practice and opinion among GPs in England’ Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, May 2011