BAA launch Tinnitus Training modules for Audiology professionals

For Tinnitus Week 2020, the British Academy of Audiology is launching its Tinnitus Training modules and making them accessible for Health and Social Care professionals across the UK. With approximately 7.1 million people in the UK affected by Tinnitus, it is vital that people feel more supported, better understood and get immediate ‘first aid’.

The aim of the BAA Tinnitus Training course is to deliver a basic introduction to tinnitus management for as many professionals as possible. BAA want to ensure, as a professional body and patient organisation, that any patient who mentions tinnitus during any routine appointment is triaged effectively and offered appropriate onward referral or simple advice on management and self-help.

The British Tinnitus Association (BTA) estimate that there are 1.05 million GP consultations about tinnitus in the UK every year, with the treatment pathway costing the NHS £750 million, and an overall cost to society of £2.7 billion per year. The BAA is keen to ensure that any professional can offer the correct support, signposting and ‘first aid’.

The training consists of three short online modules accessible to anyone with any level of knowledge about tinnitus. This is an assessed course with a final piece of reflection on two patients seen with tinnitus. Once the three 3 modules and the assessment have been completed satisfactorily, the professional will receive an e-certificate for their personal CPD records.

Sue Falkingham, Immediate Past President of the BAA, and instrumental in making this training available from the BAA said, “It is vital that good quality support and referral is available to anyone accessing help with Tinnitus and this module gives great information to help you develop good skills for the benefit of all people presenting with Tinnitus. BAA has worked with the BTA and the Scottish Tinnitus Advisory Group to produce this piece of online learning that anyone can access and use to ensure that good quality information is received as quickly as possible.

The BAA Tinnitus Training was developed between the British Tinnitus Association, the Scottish Tinnitus Advisory Group and the British Academy of Audiology and is available on the BAA website free of charge. Click here to start your Tinnitus Training at a time and place convenient to you.