Dr. Sara K. Down, an audiologist and co-founder of the Duluth-based Hearing Wellness Center and Tinnitus Treatment Center, is receiving national recognition for the innovative integrated treatment strategy she developed called Active Sound Therapy.

What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus happens when a person hears a sound that cannot be found in the environment. It can sound like ringing, buzzing, hissing, or chirping.  Tinnitus can be caused by a number of medical conditions, medications, and injuries. However, the most common cause is untreated hearing loss or injury somewhere along the auditory system. 50 million Americans experience tinnitus and for some many people it’s not a big deal, they hear it and can put it in the background. For others, tinnitus can become intrusive and cause major disruption in their lives. 

Why do you see a surge in it in the winter months?

We do see an uptick in people calling in for help with tinnitus during the winter months. I noticed this especially when I spent time as the Interim Executive Director of the American Tinnitus Association. OurTinnAP help line received more calls in winter, likely due to increased isolation during the dark winter months and the seasonal affective symptoms people have during that time. 

Does tinnitus ever go away once you have it?

For many people, tinnitus is intermittent or temporary. For those that develop chronic intrusive tinnitus there are therapies that can help. At this time there isn’t a cure for tinnitus but there are many effective treatments available. But beware there’s a lot of snake oil out there as well! Be sure to check out the American Tinnitus Association for reliable information before trying any home treatments you see on social media.

How do you treat tinnitus? (Talk about active sound therapy here).

Tinnitus impacts both the auditory and nervous systems so it is important to address tinnitus with an Integrative Tinnitus Care approach. This means we need to feed the auditory system the right kind of sounds for a person’s tinnitus and help to soothe the nervous system in a specific timing that helps the nervous system tune out the tinnitus. We call our method Active Sound Therapy. Another approach is the first FDA-approved device called Lenire. Lenire provides auditory stimulation and stimulates the nervous system with a tongue stimulator in a process called bimodal neuromodulation. Each person’s tinnitus is unique and the treatment plan needs to be tailored to their individual experience. 

In our new Hermantown location, we will have expanded tinnitus services as well as a classroom where I will be teaching practitioners from around the country about Active Sound Therapy. 

For more information, check out the American Tinnitus Association.