Tinnitus is a really prevalent medical condition. Tinnitus can become so overwhelming that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million individuals around the world. And there are also more prevalent 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 external source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It might manifest as a continual buzzing or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is frequently related to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately lead to the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. Managing these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? Well, it’s essential to note that not all kinds of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But identifying the cause can be crucial to finding the right treatment approach.
For some people, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological issue, including a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other instances, tinnitus may be caused by age-related hearing loss. The following are some other possible causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus isn’t always caused by ear issues. In some cases, the root cause lies within the brain. If your baseline neurological functions are impaired by injury it can activate neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear interact. 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. In some situations, neurological tinnitus might go away as the brain heals. It might be irreversible in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: When only you can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is really common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for example, is often 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: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is a real, verifiable sound, it’s referred to as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus is not really as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Most commonly, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. For people with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound typically seems louder than it should.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this attribute. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
Frequently, people will have more than one type of tinnitus at the same time. You may have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. In order for us to develop a treatment plan, we will first need to determine the root cause of your tinnitus.
Getting assistance with your tinnitus
You most likely won’t have to take any specific action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But if your tinnitus sticks around or returns frequently, it might have real and significant impacts on your day-to-day life. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to call us for a consultation.
After we determine the underlying cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment methods we can use. A few of these techniques can decrease the severity of your symptoms making them less obvious. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Tinnitus can’t generally be cured, but it can be effectively managed. We will help you customize the best treatment for your specific situation. That way, you can more easily disregard the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you enjoy.