Tinnitus

Tinnitus is defined as the perception of sound in the absence of an acoustic stimulus. With a prev- alence of about 10-15% among adults tinnitus is a common symptom. If tinnitus persists for a lon- ger time and if the patient does not adapt to it, a range of associated problems can be found. The most common problems are sleep disturbance, emotional disturbance and concentration problems. Given the distress caused by tinnitus the risk of patients falling into a vicious circle of increased at- tention to tinnitus, dysfunctional appraisal processes, negative emotions and avoidance behaviour increases. This in turn, can severely affect tinnitus distress and quality of life in the long run. Dif- ferent treatment approaches for tinnitus have been developed and cognitive-behavioural forms of treatment in particular were found to be effective in reducing tinnitus distress. The present paper provides an overview of the symptom tinnitus, etiological models, diagnostic approaches and dif- ferent forms of treatment.