Tinnitus sound or noise levels can lead to tinnitus. Ear plugs or other measures can help with prevention. Several medicines have ototoxic effects, and can have a cumulative effect that can increase the damage done by noise. If ototoxic medications must be administered, close attention by the physician to prescription details, such as dose and dosage interval, can reduce the damage done. If there is an underlying cause, treating it may lead to improvements. Otherwise, the primary treatment for tinnitus is talk therapy and sound therapy; there are no effective medications. The best supported treatment for tinnitus is a type of
Tinnitus retraining therapy The patient is taught the basic knowledge about the auditory system and its function, the mechanism of tinnitus generation and the annoyance associated with tinnitus. The repetition of these points in the follow-up visits helps the patient to perceive the signal as a non-danger. Measuring the efficacy of TRT is beset by confounding factors: tinnitus reporting is entirely subjective therefore not reliable; tinnitus or at least subjects' perception of it varies over time and repeated evaluations are not consistent. Researchers have noted that there is a large placebo component to tinnitus management. In many commercial TRT practices, there is a