One in five Norwegians has tinnitus – the treatment options are inadequate, according to a new report
Researchers have examined the current treatment for tinnitus and found weaknesses in the support provided to those affected in Norway. One in five Norwegians has the disorder.
Many individuals with tinnitus in Norway suffer unnecessarily because they receive incorrect or insufficient information during their initial encounters with the healthcare system, a new report from SINTEF concludes.
“We hear daily stories of exhaustion and reduced quality of life that could have been improved with relatively simple measures. It is difficult to understand why the health authorities have neglected this field for so long,” Inger Helene Venås says.
She is secretary general of the Norwegian association for the hard of hearing (HLF).
“We need enhanced expertise among GPs, more coping and rehabilitation options, and guidelines on how to follow up with individuals affected by tinnitus,” she says.
The report was commissioned by HLF.
The experience of tinnitus is unique from person to person. Common descriptions include a buzzing, hissing, ringing, or whistling sound. Others describe it as the sound of grasshoppers, metal, bagpipes, buzzing, or running water, as stated by Norway’s healthcare system Helse-Norge (link in Norwegian).
———
Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik.
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
