Tinnitus clinical services are not consistently standardized, and there is currently no widely adopted system for credentialing clinician competency in tinnitus care. Although multiple research-based methods exist for the clinical management of tinnitus, no single approach has been proven more effective than the others, and differences in methodology can result in different outcomes.
Authored by James A. Henry, PhD, Tinnitus Stepped-Care: A Standardized Framework for Clinical Practice presents a structured clinical pathway intended to support a logical, step-wise approach to tinnitus care. The framework is designed to allow clinicians to continue using their preferred methodologies while working within a uniform care structure.
Stepped-Care Framework
- Step 1 – Triage: Inform other hospitals and clinics in the geographic area about tinnitus and how to appropriately refer patients who report tinnitus.
- Step 2 – Audiology Services: Conduct an initial assessment using a minimum set of measures intended to be consistent across clinics.
- Step 3 – Tinnitus Education: Provide patients with bothersome tinnitus education about tinnitus, why it can be bothersome, and what can realistically be done.
- Step 4 – Tinnitus Counseling: Make available an established, research-based method of tinnitus treatment.
- Step 5 – Comprehensive Assessment: Conduct a comprehensive assessment for patients requiring further care to determine why earlier services were insufficient.
- Step 6 – Expanded Treatment: Provide additional treatment or refer patients to another tinnitus specialist to address needs identified in Step 5.
Key Features
- Includes reproducible clinical tools and assessments, such as the Tinnitus Screener, Tinnitus and Hearing Survey, Sound Hypersensitivity Interview, and Tinnitus Interview.
- Provides clinical algorithms, flowcharts, and visual aids, including the Step 2 Audiology Services Decision Tree and the comprehensive Tinnitus Stepped-Care flowchart, to support decision-making.
- Includes a chapter focused on screening for and assessing loudness hyperacusis, pain hyperacusis, misophonia, noise sensitivity, and phonophobia.
- Discusses how the stepped-care approach could be evaluated through creation of a tinnitus-specific learning health network (LHN) to support collaborative clinical research and standardization of care.
While primarily written for audiologists who often provide tinnitus clinical services, the book may also be relevant for psychologists and other mental health clinicians who provide tinnitus counseling, as well as otolaryngologists who frequently see tinnitus patients.
Book Details
Title: Tinnitus Stepped-Care: A Standardized Framework for Clinical Practice
Author: James A. Henry
Published: 11/20/2025
ISBN: 978-1-63550-791-1
More information: https://www.pluralpublishing.com/publications/tinnitus-stepped-care-a-standardized-framework-for-clinical-practice
About the Author
James A. Henry, PhD, is an audiologist with a doctorate in behavioral neuroscience. He spent more than 35 years as an auditory researcher with a primary focus on tinnitus, serving as principal or coprincipal investigator on 43 funded projects and grants totaling $28 million. He has authored more than 250 publications, including over 140 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has written nine prior books (with this title being his tenth). He retired in 2022 and continues to lecture, provide training workshops, serve as an educational consultant, and act as editor-at-large for the American Tinnitus Association’s journal Tinnitus Today. His website is www.earsgonewrong.org.
About Plural Publishing
Plural Publishing produces academic, scientific, and clinical publications in speech-language pathology, audiology, otolaryngology, and professional singing. The company focuses on publications written by subject-matter experts to support education and clinical practice across communication sciences and disorders.
Source: Plural Publishing
