Tinnitus is an incredibly prevalent medical condition. Something like 20 million people regularly cope with chronic 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 noises in your ears that don’t have an outside source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. This may be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will automatically result in the other.
In fact, there are a significant variety of types of tinnitus. And each one will require a different approach to treatment.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it stem from? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in several forms and causes. Regardless of the specific cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still essential to determine the cause in order to successfully treat the symptoms.
In some cases, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. In other circumstances, tinnitus may be caused by age-related hearing loss. The following are a few other potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus isn’t always caused by ear problems. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has broken down with the typical ways that your brain and ear communicate. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that might not be there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the root sources of tinnitus, as well as others. In some instances, neurological tinnitus may go away as the brain heals. For others, it could be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: When only you can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is quite common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. Lots of other forms of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is frequently also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can manifest as many different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is an actual, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus does happen, though it’s not as common as subjective forms. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an illustration of this form of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many people, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This form of tinnitus becomes more intense when you move around. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these forms of tinnitus are not necessarily mutually exclusive. You may have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. In order for us to put together a treatment plan, we will first need to identify the underlying cause of your tinnitus.
Getting help with your tinnitus
You probably won’t need to take any specific action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But if your tinnitus hangs around or returns frequently, it may have real and severe impacts on your everyday life. That’s when it’s particularly important to speak with a hearing specialist to get specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
After we identify the underlying cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment strategies we can use. A few of these strategies can minimize the intensity of your symptoms making them less apparent. We might also employ masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually be effectively treated. We will help you customize the best treatment for your particular situation. That way, you can more easily ignore the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you love.
