It’s very common for people to experience tinnitus. Around 20 million individuals routinely cope with persistent tinnitus so intense that it becomes burdensome. And there are also more common presentations of tinnitus which are a lot more mild and intermittent and are also easier to deal with.
When you hear sounds in your ears that don’t have an outside source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It could manifest as a persistent buzzing or ringing in the ears. Although hearing loss is often associated with tinnitus, there isn’t always a cause-and-effect connection between the two.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in numerous forms. And each one will call for a different treatment approach.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
Exactly what is tinnitus and how is it caused? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in a number of forms and causes. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still crucial to determine the cause in order to successfully manage the symptoms.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological problem, such as a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. Hearing loss due to age can be another aspect that can cause tinnitus. The following are a few other potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Issues with the ear are not always the cause of tinnitus. Sometimes, the underlying cause lies within the brain. If your baseline neurological functions are impaired by injury it can trigger neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has gone wrong with the typical ways that your brain and ear communicate. As a result, a phantom sound is heard which isn’t really there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the root sources of tinnitus, as well as others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some instances, clear up on its own. For others, it could be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and has no external source and only you can hear it. Lots of other forms of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is frequently also subjective tinnitus. There are a large number of sounds that can manifest with subjective tinnitus, including buzzing, ringing, screeching, roaring, thumping, and lots of others.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus is not quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Most commonly, this means you’re dealing with something called pulsatile tinnitus, which happens when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be abnormally loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many people, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This is tinnitus that gets worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
The majority of these types of tinnitus are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For instance, you may have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. In order for us to develop a treatment plan, we will first need to identify the root cause of your tinnitus.
Getting assistance with your tinnitus
You probably won’t have to take any specific action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But your quality of life can be seriously impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are rather constant or keep returning. That’s when it’s especially important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
We have several different tinnitus management methods we may try depending on the underlying cause of your symptoms. A few of these strategies can decrease the intensity of your symptoms making them less evident. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually be successfully managed. We will help you customize the best treatment for your specific situation. This will help you enjoy life again by pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily disregarded.