Cognitive Behavioral therapy for tinnitus: addressing the controversy of its clinical delivery by audiologists
Abstract
Audiologists' role in providing care for tinnitus typically includes conducting an audiologic evaluation, fitting hearing aids when appropriate, assessing the impact of tinnitus, and facilitating use of sound to improve quality of life with tinnitus when appropriate. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is consistently judged by systematic reviews as having the strongest evidence relative to other therapies for improving quality of life with tinnitus. Because audiologists are already playing an active role in providing care for tinnitus, and the relative paucity of behavioral health providers who are experienced in implementing CBT for tinnitus, a logical question is whether audiologists can provide CBT and whether it is within their scope of practice. In this article, we present both sides of the argument as to whether audiologists can provide CBT and we make recommendations for appropriate administration of CBT for tinnitus management.
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The ability of audiologists to manage significant comorbid mental health issues may be limited.
“Additionally, the ability of audiologists to manage significant comorbid mental health issues may be limited (Henry et al., 2022), possibly due to specialization in medical fields and differing emphases on specialized knowledge.”
From Research trends and hotspots of cognitive behavioral therapy for tinnitus: a bibliometric analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Henry et al., 2022
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Research trends and hotspots of cognitive behavioral therapy for tinnitus: a bibliometric analysis
He, Y., Liu, J., Cheng, H., Ye, H., Li, C., Gao, Y., & Xu, X. (2025) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2025.1536224 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Henry, J. A., Goodworth, M.-C., Lima, E., Zaugg, T., & Thielman, E. J.
- Affiliations
- Oregon Health & Science University (US)
- George Fox University (US)
- Charles George VA Medical Center (US)
- Portland VA Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Henry, James A.
- Venue
- Ear & Hearing
- Published
- 2021-10-26
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 283-289
- ISSN
- 0196-0202 (ISSN-L)
- 1538-4667
- OpenAlex
- W3209170600
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 55
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3
- FWCI
- 1.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ear and Hearing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (IK6 RX002990)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Hearing, Cochlea, Tinnitus, Genetics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hearing Loss and Rehabilitation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Speech and Hearing › Noise Effects and Management
- Keywords
- cognitive behavioral therapy, tinnitus, audiologists, scope of practice, tinnitus management, quality of life, sound therapy
- MeSH terms
- Audiologists, Hearing Aids, Humans, Quality of Life, Tinnitus, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
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