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I
sincerely welcome you to this website, and would like to
share with you a story of how it all began…
In
2002, my colleague, Dr. Borys Hoshowsky (Otolaryngologist) and I ran
into one another in the hallway at our office. He asked
me if I had ever worked with people who had Tinnitus.
At the time, I had not. He told me how so many of his
patients over the years had suffered tremendously with
this condition. He indicated that there was not yet a
surgery or drug that could correct tinnitus, but
emphasized how much these people needed help and how
much despair he had seen in his patients over the
years. Out of concern and compassion, he asked me if I
would be able to help them?
I
was very intrigued by this and immediately went on the
internet to research available counseling for Tinnitus.
I was most struck by the statistics in both the United
States and Canada. In the US, the American Tinnitus
Association reported that 50 million people have
tinnitus, with 12 million seeking help and 2.5 million
experiencing severe psychological distress by it. The
Canadian Tinnitus Association reported that 3 million
people have tinnitus and about 600,000 are severely
incapacitated by it.
I
found these numbers staggering, and given the magnitude
of this condition across North America, I could not
believe how seemingly limited the resources were for the
person with this condition. My research continued and
as I read more and more, something naturally evolved
literally from that brief talk in the hallway between my
colleague, and myself. I not only became intrigued that
day, I became inspired. I feel indebted to ‘Dr. B’ for
introducing me to an area that I have truly become
passionate about.
My
curiosity around how a Psychologist could help the
person with tinnitus, has led me to dedicating a
significant part of my practice to offering both help
and hope.
It is ‘Hope For
Tinnitus’ that this website is all about…
Though many
people with tinnitus will seek help, I have discovered that many have
not been given direction or resources on how they may learn to help
themselves. It has also become evident over the years, that many
people have heard the message that ‘there is nothing else that can be
done...learn to live with it’. Unfortunately, this message does not
inspire hope; for some, it can be diminished.
It may seem
evident that until there is a cure, that one does need, to live with
it. But stating the obvious, without offering the tools that can
facilitate the person learning “HOW”, could leave them struggling in
despair. The person with tinnitus not only wants to eliminate the
sound; they want and need to reduce the distress that accompanies it.
I believe that
there is much that can be done, and it is my purpose to empower you to
learn how to enhance the quality of your life rather than tinnitus
being your life. It is my intention to reframe the message away from
“Learning to Live With It”, to “Living Again, While Having It”.
Please join me as
you search through the pages to discover the hope that I believe
exists for the person with tinnitus.
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