LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A free guide is being circulated to GPs offering advice and information on how to deal with the half a million tinnitus patients who leave their surgeries distraught every year because they’ve been told nothing can be done for them.
750, 000 GP visits per year in England relate to tinnitus, but two thirds of patients leave without any treatment being offered because there is no specific GP training on tinnitus management.
Now, an authoritative guide, The Tinnitus First Appointment Guide for General Practitioners, is being sent to GPs to help them deal specifically with early-onset tinnitus and advise patients on self-managing some of their symptoms and make life more tolerable.
Mark Williams, one of the world’s leading experts on tinnitus and Chief Audiologist at The Harley Street Tinnitus Clinic in London said; “A national GP survey by the NHS National Institute for Health Research and Nottingham University showed a large majority of GPs admitted to a lack of clear, concise, accessible training on tinnitus management.
The Tinnitus First Appointment Guide for General Practitioners has been produced by us to fill a gap left by the lack of early intervention guidelines from the NHS, who do not regard it as a priority. In some of the worst cases, patients have to be hospitalised for their own safety because the incessant noise has led them to contemplate suicide.”
Tinnitus affects people of all ages, with one in ten of the UK’s population experiencing seriously debilitating symptoms such as depression, anxiety and sleep deprivation. Research shows that treating people with first signs of tinnitus means a better outcome for them later.
Tinnitus patient, Sheila Starritt of Tonbridge, Kent said: “My experience was awful as I had negative and unhelpful comments from seven doctors. I felt there was no one who understood the nightmare it was causing me.”
Although the UK Department of Health introduced a Good Practice Guide in 2009 for the appointment of tinnitus services, there is still a lack of standard practice in both GP and specialist care for tinnitus.
To download the Tinnitus First Appointment Guide and information on the new Acute Tinnitus Therapy please
visit http://www.thetinnitusclinic.co.uk/downloads/GP_Brochure_Download.pdf
For further information on treatments please visit www.thetinnitusclinic.co.uk
