This article is a part of the January/February 2026, Volume 38, Number 1, Audiology Today issue.
By Hashir Aazh
Introduction
Audiology, like every healthcare profession, is shaped by boundaries. We are trained within defined scopes of practice, certified by boards, and monitored by professional codes. These structures matter. They safeguard patients from poorly trained clinicians and maintain the integrity of our field. But they can also feel restrictive.
Few situations reveal this stress more sharply than the role of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in tinnitus care. CBT is the only psychological intervention consistently recommended by evidence-based guidelines for tinnitus-related distress (Fuller et al., 2020; Martinez-Devesa et al., 2010). Yet audiologists, who spend their days in clinics with patients overwhelmed by tinnitus, often find themselves told, “You cannot do CBT. That belongs to psychology.”
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