I have been extremely fortunate - an interview with Jim Henry

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Annual Tinnitus Research Review 2017. Copyright © British Tinnitus Association 2017. Editors: David Baguley & Nic Wray The editors would like to thank all the contributors for their support and enthusiasm. We would also like to thank the copyright owners of the images and figures reproduced in this publication for their permission to reproduce them either directly or via licence. We believe that all such work has been acknowledged, but please contact Nic Wray on nic@tinnitus.org.uk if any have been inadvertently omitted. British Tinnitus Association Unit 5 Acorn Business Park Woodseats Close Sheffield S8 0TB www.tinnitus.org.uk info@tinnitus.org.uk 0114 250 9933 Registered charity no. 1011145 Company limited by guarantee no. 2709302, registered in England.
T British Tinnitus Association DR JAMES HENRY Research Professor National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research James Henry, PhD. is certified and licensed audiologist with a doctorate in Behavioral Neuroscience. He is employed at the National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research (NCRAR) located at the VA Portland Health Care System. He is also Research Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Oregon Health & Science University. For the past 23 years he has devoted his career to tinnitus research. He has received funding for 25 grants to study various aspects of tinnitus clinical management. His overall goal is to develop and validate clinical methodology for effectively helping individuals who are afflicted with bothersome tinnitus. I HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY FORTUNATE: Dr James Henry talks to Nic Wray What made you first interested in tinnitus? How did your research career develop to where it is now? I became interested in pursuing a career in Audiology because of my deaf daughter. When she was 5 years old I returned to school to earn an M.S. in Audiology. Following school I was hired as a research audiologist at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Portland, Oregon where I discovered an avid interest in research. I spent the next 6 years in the Behavioral Neuroscience doctoral program at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). My OHSU research lab was directed by Dr Jack Vernon, and my research advisor was Dr Mary Meikle. They were both pioneers in the field of tinnitus and I had the great opportunity to learn from them. My doctoral dissertation focused on measurement of tinnitus, which cemented my interest in doing tinnitus research as a career. I have been doing it ever since. My first funded grant was a pilot study to perform computer-automated tinnitus measurement. I have continued that work to the present. I also became interested in Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and attended Dr Jastreboff’s TRT training course in 1997. I received a grant in 1999 to compare outcomes between TRT and Tinnitus Masking (Dr Vernon’s method) and that study led to two other studies evaluating TRT. My combined experiences led to the development of Progressive Tinnitus Management (PTM), which is the method we have focused on for about the last 10 years. What research are you currently involved in? I would have to say that further refinement and expansion of PTM is my highest priority. What has always driven my research is the desire to improve clinical services for people who suffer from tinnitus. Until a cure is discovered, the best we can do is to mitigate effects of tinnitus and help people live normal lives in spite of their unremitting tinnitus. PTM is a stepped-care program of clinical management, and the intervention levels focus on teaching self-help skills to enable people to know what to do whenever their tinnitus is bothersome. 26 Annual Tinnitus Research Review 2017
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I have been extremely fortunate - an interview with Jim Henry

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