Tinnitus: A Self-Management Guide for the Ringing in Your Ears

Rating:
Summary: Most likely too involved for the target audience...
Review: As I have a slight issue with tinnitus (ringing in the ears), I picked up this book from the library: Tinnitus - A Self-Management Guide For The Ringing In Your Ears by Jane L. Henry and Peter H. Wilson. I'm not quite sure that this book would be helpful to what I see as the target audience.

Chapter List: It's Time to Take Control!; Some Facts about Tinnitus; Assessing Your Tinnitus: How Does It Affect You?; The Connection between Thoughts and Emotions; Changing the Way You Think about Tinnitus; Relaxation and Stress-Management Techniques; Attention Control Techniques; Becoming Your Own Coach; Dealing with High-Risk Situations; Reducing the Impact of Tinnitus on Your Daily Lifestyle; Maintaining Gaines in the Longer-Term; Some Final Tips on Managing Your Tinnitus; Additional Reading; Appendix; Index

Tinnitus, for those who don't know, is the condition where you have a constant noise in your ear(s), like a ringing or buzzing. It's thought to be due to damage in the inner ear, but it's not something that can be easily corrected in many situations. And since the sound tends to always be there at some level, it can be an annoyance (or worse). The authors in this book do a high-level overview of what tinnitus is, what the causes are, and then go into cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques on how you can learn to live with the condition and manage your response to it. The program they outline is pretty detailed and involved, and involves a lot of writing and answering of questions to discover your current ways of coping.

I mentioned earlier I didn't think the book was too helpful. The examples and situations they feature in the book all tend to be towards the extreme end of the scale, such that the person is unable to function normally with the condition. In my case, I've had a very minor case for a long time (too much loud music growing up), and it's gotten a little worse with my dysthymia medication. Still, I wouldn't trade the benefits of the fluoxetine for reduction of the noise. For the extreme examples in the book, these people are at wits end and can't concentrate or deal with life. In that state, I don't see them taking the time and effort to work through this program on their own. With an external coach or mentor guiding them, it may be useful. But history shows that most people can't pull off a self-guided improvement program of any type on their own. Throw in a debilitating condition on top of it, and I think the chances of success drop to low single digits.