#tinnitus

#tinnitus

Dementia is one of the great fears of aging, especially as rates continue to climb in many countries. So when headlines suggest that tinnitus-a condition affecting nearly one in five adults-may be linked to dementia, people predictably become anxious. I often meet patients more concerned about the fear of cognitive decline than of the ringing itself. In many cases, this fear alone makes their tinnitus worse.

Persistent distressing tinnitus is due in large part to the meaning ascribed to it and the subsequent strong emotions evoked, which establish a conditioned response that does not habituate.