Summary:
APSO has released its finalized tinnitus evaluation standard while opening a complementary tinnitus treatment and management standard for public review to advance evidence-based audiology practice.

Key Takeaways:

  • APSO published S5.1 Evaluation of Patients with Tinnitus, establishing evidence-based guidance for audiologists’ diagnostic assessment of tinnitus.
  • The follow-up standard, S5.2 Treatment and Management of Patients with Tinnitus, is open for public comment from December 15–31, 2025, inviting input from U.S. audiologists.
  • APSO emphasizes profession-wide, evidence-based standards, noting tinnitus affects an estimated 27 million Americans, with roughly half finding it bothersome.

Audiology Practice Standards Organization (APSO) has published the final standard regarding diagnostic evaluation of patients with tinnitus. The standard, designated S5.1 Evaluation of Patients with Tinnitus, is now available for download from the APSO website at https://www.audiologystandards.org by scrolling down to the Current Standards link. According to the organization, this standard represents many months of work by leading experts in the field of tinnitus evaluation and represents the work performed by audiologists evaluating patients with tinnitus.

Closely following the standard for tinnitus evaluation is APSO’s newest standard, S5.2 Treatment and Management of Patients with Tinnitus. The follow-up standard for tinnitus addresses the tasks performed by an audiologist when directing treatment and management for patients who have bothersome tinnitus. A recent study published in The Lancet indicated that 11.2% – or approximately 27 million – people in the United States experience tinnitus. Most estimates suggest that roughly half of people with tinnitus find it bothersome.

S5.2 Treatment and Management of Patients with Tinnitus will be open for public review and comment Monday, December 15, 2025, remaining open through Wednesday, December 31, 2025. Any U.S. audiologist may review and comment on the standard and all comments are welcome. According to the organization, APSO strives to create standards that describe the basic practices of all audiologists, and are based in evidence and produced with the support of the entire profession.

APSO standards may be accessed and comments may be submitted at https://www.audiologystandards.org/standards/working.php. APSO is encouraging reviewers to provide evidence-based comments that include a rationale for edits, adding that all comments are read by subject matter experts and considered in creating a final draft of the standard.

All APSO standards are freely accessible to audiologists and the public. For more information about APSO or to view any standard, visit https://www.audiologystandards.org.