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"New therapy helped Kevin with tinnitus: 'Tears jumped in my eyes'"



Instead of addressing the problem auditory, he received behavioral therapy. The tinnitus was no longer masked, but rather looked up. The situations were simulated in which Kevin is most affected by his tinnitus.



So he had to spend time in a quiet room. "That was very intense, the first time the tears jumped in my eyes", says Kevin. "Normally I always made sure that I had music, but now it suddenly stopped working and that made it worse at the beginning."



After four treatments Kevin is not suddenly 'miraculously' healed. Yet the therapy has made a lot of difference for him. "I do not like it, the beep is still there, but it has become a lot less," he says. "At the beginning, I wanted to stop the sessions, it just seemed to get worse, but now it just feels less."



In stressful situations Kevin notices that he will get more problems again. "But then I use the tools to make it less so again, I know now: it is still present, but manageable."



Treatment is catching on



The treatment that Maastricht University has now developed with a team of audiologists and psychologists is effective. No less than 85 to 90 percent of the research group experience an improvement.



Maastricht University and care group Adelante are the first organizations worldwide with this treatment. Treatment will also be needed soon in Brabant, Utrecht and Noord-Holland. Even better news: the method will also be reimbursed starting this year.