Are you hearing ringing in the ears? A common and often misunderstood condition, tinnitus affects millions of people around the world. Often tinnitus is a symptom of hearing loss, but various other factors can also cause it. A physician or hearing healthcare professional can help to better understand the underlying cause. This article will help in understanding tinnitus, its symptoms, potential causes, and how to minimize it.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the perception of sound without an external source. This ringing, buzzing, humming, or even music sound can occur in one or both ears and be loud enough to interfere with daily activities. It may come and go or be present all the time. The noise can range from a low roar to a high-pitched squeal. Some people describe tinnitus perception as hissing, electrical powerline noise, or clicking sound.
Understanding tinnitus – What does it mean to have tinnitus?
On its own, tinnitus is just a symptom, not an illness. In most cases, tinnitus is related to some degree of hearing loss. But it can be a sign of age-related hearing loss, an infection in the ear canal, or other underlying conditions. Therefore, it will be necessary to have a comprehensive evaluation to determine the possible cause of your tinnitus.
For some, their tinnitus interferes with daily life. These adverse effects can hurt quality of life. The tinnitus sound is distracting and makes it hard to relax, fall asleep, or concentrate. For anyone who finds their quality of life suffering, tinnitus management is a great option to help in treating tinnitus.
Do you find that tinnitus impacts your quality of life? Let’s chat about how we can work together to help improve your situation. You can find the schedule link here.
Symptoms & Causes
The most common symptom of tinnitus is a ringing, whooshing sound, or buzzing in one or both ears. Sometimes a specific underlying condition, such as Meniere’s disease, is known to be associated with tinnitus. In addition, tinnitus can be caused by exposure to loud noises, certain medications, underlying medical conditions such as hearing loss, high blood pressure, head trauma, or even ear wax buildup.
Our working understanding of tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is that the brain searches for the sound it once received. In the case of sensorineural hearing loss, the hearing loss is most commonly present in the high frequencies. The auditory nerve then changes the spontaneous firing rate to compensate for the lack of sound it receives. The result is the presence of tinnitus.
Have you been to a loud concert and left with your ears ringing? Loud noise is one cause of damage to the ears, and extremely loud noise can cause damage to the inner ear, leading to hearing loss and tinnitus. The inner ear hair cells become damaged from loud sound exposure. Sometimes the hair cells can recover and regain their original upright position. However, if loud sound exposure is too intense or happens too frequently, irreparable damage causes permanent hearing loss or tinnitus.
Other causes of tinnitus stem from head or neck trauma. For example, tinnitus is not an uncommon occurrence post-concussively. Any head or neck injury will need additional treatment. Disruption of blood flow to the ears or neck can make tinnitus worse.
Is there a test for tinnitus?
In most cases, tinnitus is related to hearing loss. For this reason, a comprehensive hearing evaluation can be beneficial in identifying the presence of hearing loss. The evaluation will also determine the source of the hearing loss, which may stem from the inner ear, middle ear, or a combination of both. Additionally, wax build-up can also contribute to tinnitus, and otoscopy at this visit will catch any excess wax.
Other tinnitus-related tests can help pinpoint the pitch and volume of the tinnitus. For example, tinnitus pitch matching helps characterize the frequency and loudness of the tinnitus. This information is helpful for sound therapy or other types of tinnitus treatment.
Tinnitus Evaluation
A consultation for tinnitus management will start with a comprehensive evaluation, including a hearing test and medical history. It’s important to know about any potential causes of noise-induced hearing loss. If there is still any current noise exposure, that should be limited with hearing protection or steps taken to minimize trauma from loud sound exposure. Loud sounds, such as those from loud machinery, can worsen tinnitus.
Treatment
There are several treatments for tinnitus, including:
- auditory training (e.g., sound therapy)
- limbic system restructuring (e.g., addressing negative thoughts)
- cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT),
- alternative therapy (e.g., bimodal neuromodulation)
This range of approaches offers a variety of treatment options, depending on what a patient finds most bothersome.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
Another option is tinnitus retraining therapy TRT, as it’s known, works through a combination of counseling and sound therapy. The goal of this treatment is to habituate to the sound of the tinnitus. For example, you may hear the sound of the refrigerator humming in the background, but most of the time, you don’t notice it, and it just blends in with the background noise. The goal here is to create a more peaceful existence with tinnitus.
Lifestyle Modification
Some people find relief from their symptoms with lifestyle changes such as reducing stress levels, incorporating mindfulness, and getting good sleep. However, stress is often a provoking factor for anyone with bothersome tinnitus, and focusing on stress management can make a big difference. Other helpful methods include relaxation techniques and deep breathing.
Masking
In addition to these treatments, there are other ways that you can help to mask the sound of your tinnitus to help it blend in more with background noise. For example, imagine lighting a candle in a dark room versus one with light. Playing some background noise, such as white noise, brown noise, or nature sounds, can help camouflage the tinnitus sound. Also, products on the market are specifically designed to help minimize tinnitus symptoms, such as a sound generator. These devices include a white noise machine or pillow that provides soothing sounds to help mask tinnitus.
Hearing Aids
A hearing aid is a medical device that provides volume at specific frequencies according to a person’s audiogram. Wearing hearing aids can help to reduce tinnitus in some cases. To understand the mechanism behind this, consider how the brain is trying to compensate for the hearing loss by increasing the spontaneous nerve firing rate, causing the perception of a sound. Then, when the brain begins to receive that sound again, it may reduce the tinnitus sound. While it doesn’t necessarily stop the tinnitus, it can result in less noticeable tinnitus and make it easier to manage tinnitus.
Resources
If you are looking for additional resources for tinnitus management and support, the American Tinnitus Association is another place to look for more information. You may also try the American Tinnitus Foundation.
The Cleveland Clinic is another leader in tinnitus treatment, in addition to Dr. Richard Tyler at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC).
Experimental Therapies
There is ongoing research on additional tinnitus therapies, such as deep brain stimulation or bimodal neuromodulation techniques. Neuromod, a European-based company, is currently working on clinical trials for a tongue stimulation device that has seen promising preliminary data that suggest the device may relieve tinnitus in up to 80% of the trial participants.
Conclusion:
Tinnitus is a common condition that affects millions of people worldwide every year. While there is no cure for this condition yet, various treatments available may help minimize its effects and improve quality of life for those suffering from it. For example, suppose you are experiencing tinnitus in your ears. It’s important to speak with a hearing healthcare professional, so they can diagnose the issue properly and determine which treatment option would work best for you based on your individual needs and lifestyle habits. With proper care and treatment, you should be able to manage your tinnitus symptoms effectively over time!
If you’re looking for support with your tinnitus, let’s talk about how we can work together to help you improve your quality of life. Schedule here.
