Page 30 - Primary Care Audiology

Tinnitus

Tinnitus describes hearing a sound where there is no external
sound source. This might be ringing, humming, buzzing, or more
than one sound at a time. 65
About 10% of the population is estimated to experience tinnitus
at some point, and it will be moderately annoying in 2.8% of the
population, severely annoying in 1.6%, and disrupt a person’s ability
to live a normal life in 0.5%. 66
Many people with tinnitus will also have other ear and hearing
needs, which are best managed in primary care audiology – e.g.
75% of people with hearing loss might experience tinnitus and
66
tinnitus is also often associated with a build-up of earwax. 66
So, while 6.7 million people in the UK will eventually experience
tinnitus, many will self-manage their tinnitus without intervention,
while others will need routine ear and hearing care support. A
smaller group will need access to more specialist tinnitus services,
and some will need a medical examination to exclude any
underlying pathology. 66

The challenge is that without a clear clinical pathway to specialist
care, it is estimated that more than 1 million people with tinnitus
turn up at their GP practice each year for support, guidance and
referral. GPs are under pressure and cannot meet this need alone.
67
GPs also often lack access to diagnostic equipment to help reduce
the rate of false positive referrals to ENT.
68
To help patients, GPs and ENT colleagues, and decision-makers
across the UK should implement the NICE guidelines for
managing adult hearing loss and tinnitus. These guidelines make
it clear that people with tinnitus and no red-flag symptoms should
be offered an audiology assessment as the first-line intervention. 69

30 NCHA Primary care audiology – accessible ear and hearing care for all 31