Course Directors
Dr Hashir Aazh United Kingdom
Professor Bart Vinck, Belgium
Welcome to CBT-Hear: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Hearing Disorders
CBT-Hear is a clinical framework designed to improve access to evidence-based care for individuals experiencing tinnitus, hyperacusis, or misophonia. It equips clinicians to integrate cognitive behavioural therapy, audiological insight, and holistic strategies into a unified, person-centred approach.
The model recognises that sound-related distress is rarely about sound alone. It arises from how internal sensations are interpreted, managed, and embedded within a person’s emotional, physical, and social world. Many patients present with complex profiles, including coexisting otological, medical, somatic, or psychological conditions. Responding effectively requires interdisciplinary knowledge, structured intervention, and clear professional boundaries.
CBT-Hear is grounded in the principle that effective care must bridge the divide between mind and body, between psychology and audiology. As Plato observed, “The greatest mistake in the treatment of diseases is that there are physicians for the body and physicians for the soul, although the two cannot be separated.”
The programme combines assessment, education, and targeted CBT into a flexible care pathway that clinicians can apply across audiology, mental health, and interdisciplinary settings.
Dr Hashir Aazh, PhD
Course Director
The Development of CBT-Hear
CBT-Hear was developed by Dr Hashir Aazh over two decades, grounded in specialist clinical work within audiology and shaped through sustained collaboration with experts from multiple disciplines. The programme is now delivered in partnership with Professor Bart Vinck (Belgium) and his expert team at ON-GEHOORD. This collaboration brings together decades of expertise in audiology, hearing rehabilitation, and interdisciplinary training, enriching the course with a European perspective and hands-on clinical learning opportunities.
At its heart, CBT-Hear recognises that effective care for tinnitus, hyperacusis, and misophonia involves both understanding the origins of a patient’s distress and equipping them with forward-looking strategies to live well despite ongoing symptoms.
Between them, Dr Aazh and Professor Vinck bring a unique combination of clinical and scientific expertise in tinnitus, hyperacusis, and misophonia. Their combined experience spans thousands of complex cases, often complicated by anxiety, depression, insomnia, and somatic symptoms, and is informed by insights from clinical psychology, psychoacoustics, neurophysiology, otolaryngology, medicine, health psychology, psychotherapy, behavioural science, psychometrics, epidemiology, occupational therapy, social sciences, and philosophy.
This interdisciplinary foundation is reflected in Dr Aazh’s peer-reviewed work, including the development of clinical assessment tools, studies on the effectiveness of audiologist-delivered CBT, and research on the audiological aspects of tinnitus and sound intolerance disorders and their links to broader mental health. Professor Vinck and his team complement this with expertise in audio-vestibular science, advanced diagnostic testing, preventative strategies for noise-induced auditory damage, somatic tinnitus, physiotherapy, osteopathy, and stress management.
As Kierkegaard wrote, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” CBT-Hear equips clinicians to bring this principle to life in practice — bridging disciplines with clarity, compassion, and clinical precision.
CBT-Hear Programme Overview
CBT-Hear is a multi-stage training and certification programme for clinicians delivering CBT for tinnitus, hyperacusis, and misophonia. It begins with CBT-Hear Certified (67 hours training, 18 hours supervised practice), progresses to CBT-Hear Certified Practitioner (125 hours training, 27 hours supervised practice), and culminates in CBT-Hear Certified Advanced Clinician (66 hours case reflection, 27 hours supervised practice). Graduates may advance to CBT-Hear Certified Supervisor or achieve Fellowship recognition — Clinical Fellow, or Faculty Fellow — for significant contributions to the field.
Certification Pathway
Introductory training in CBT principles, structured assessment, iCBT guidance, and psychologically informed counselling for sound disorders.
Delivers full CBT-Hear interventions for tinnitus, hyperacusis, and misophonia without significant psychological comorbidity.
: Distinguishes primary sound-related distress from psychological comorbidity; applies CBT-Hear to the former, coordinates care for the latter.
Provides structured clinical supervision to CBT-Hear clinicians, supporting reflective practice, case management, and ethical standards.
Recognised for advanced clinical experience and meaningful contributions to service delivery, innovation, or complex casework.
Awarded for excellence in supervision, training, research, or curriculum development within the CBT-Hear framework.
: Granted to researchers, advocates, or public contributors for exceptional impact on the field of sound disorders.
Organiser
CBT-Hear Partners
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