We encourage people with tinnitus to go to their audiologist and doctor for assessment & treatment advice for tinnitus. But a 2025 report from the respected charity Tinnitus UK (tinnitus.org.uk) has highlighted the challenges you may face in the UK getting timely access to tinnitus-specific healthcare and audiology services.

In this blog article we are focusing on the UK (as we now have a UK branch). In New Zealand the right services are more readily available (but certainly there is still room for improvement!)

The key gaps in tinnitus care (UK)

• 72 % of private audiology clinics do not provide tinnitus specific consultations (assessment & advice)

• Waiting times of upto three years to see an ENT specialist through the NHS. It is important to have an ENT rule out that no serious underlying medical conditions are causing your tinnitus (to help give you piece of mind).

• In the rare cases where there is a serious underlying medical issue, you really don't want to wait three years before getting the appropriate treatment either from the ENT specialist or via a referral.

• Delays of upto 12 months for a NHS referral for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or psychological support for those experiencing clinical anxiety or depression caused by their tinnitus.

• Significant gaps in the quality of university level training for our future audiologists & hearing care clinicians. In the report it states none of the surveyed UK university audiology departments provided tinnitus specific clinical mentoring, competency logbooks or work-placements leaving future practitioners badly prepared.

• Two-thirds of universities reported their graduates were "not-at-all" prepared to use sound therapies with tinnitus patients. (A core part of the Tinnitus Tunes treatment is the use of sound therapy - a well repected treatment approach.)

• 1 in 6 people with tinnitus suffer a severe impact with clinical anxiety, depression and sleep disturbance creating a ripple effect on home, work and social environments.

So what should you do (and what is the impact on us)

We still recommend you see your GP (doctor) to discuss your tinnitus and if appropriate seek a referral. There are some excellent doctors, but there is the risk you might be told by some doctors that there is nothing you can do (which is entirely wrong!)

There are good audiology practices in the UK that do offer tinnitus assessments and treatment (you may just have to work harder to find them). We also need to look at helping you by recommending which clinics to use (if you have had a good experience with a particular audiologist, please do let us know, so we can share the information). Just email us at info@tinnitustunes.com

Without blowing our own trumpet we believe the services we provide (advice and treatment) are even more important given the gaps in healthcare highlighted in the report (link given below). This is particularly true for people experiencing tinnitus for the first time.

However, we also need to ensure we have empathy for those struggling to get the care & support they need.