The TInnitus Conversation that no-one is having: Interview with Marcia Dewey, AuD

Interesting to see what the pros or those who experience tinnitus have to say. Some of the discussion about ME/CFS and long Covid is broadly considered incorrect. They also mentioned Dr. Sarno but potentially with an inaccurate impression. One of Dr. Sarno's premises was to rule out organic root causes first. He did that through evaluations by other specialists. Given this it is hard to assess the accuracy of the discussion about tinnitus. From conversation here it sounds like at least some tinnitus is connected with untreated or undertreated hearing loss. That's an organic cause. That neuroplasticity may be part of the bodies adaptation to everything does not mean symptoms are caused by what is in folks heads. We also have the challenge that we cannot identify every organic cause with current science/medicine and there are many retrospective examples of science catching up eventually.

@user490 said:

Some of the discussion about ME/CFS and long Covid is broadly considered incorrect.

Please elaborate if you're going to make comments like this. No-one is able to weigh this criticism because it is very broad and without examples or supporting evidence of why you think this is the case.

@user490 said:

They also mentioned Dr. Sarno but potentially with an inaccurate impression. One of Dr. Sarno's premises was to rule out organic root causes first. He did that through evaluations by other specialists. Given this it is hard to assess the accuracy of the discussion about tinnitus.

There was a discussion about organic causes of tinnitus as part of the types of tinnitus. This is part of the routine practice of audiologists. This wasn't the focus of the discussion, but is background knowledge to it.

This is a hearing forum and I'm not sure how far from that we should drift. Anyone can search the host and the topics and form whatever conclusions. The host promotes brain retraining and makes money off that approach on her website and through social media. Brain retraining is a dangerous, pseudoscientific practice that denies the physiological origin of ME/CFS. Patients have been harmed through it. The content should have a warning in case someone is not informed.

If you hadn't noticed, the host also interviews the creators of evidence-based treatments for CFS/ME such as the Perrin technique. Dr Perrin's points for differential diagnosis of CFS/ME have been blind-tested by the NHS and found to be more accurate in the differential diagnosis of CFS/ME than their standard criteria in the absence of any medical history, proving them to be an objective method of diagnosing the condition.

She is clearly not denying that there is a biological basis to CFS/ME, but brain retraining can also be helpful in the recovery of individuals with this condition, just as it is with individuals with other chronic conditions including tinnitus and chronic pain, both of which are conditions that involve neurological circuits that can be modulated with training.