In the movies, invisibility is a powerful power. Whether it’s a mud-covered hero, a cloaked spaceship, or a sneaky ninja, invisibility allows people in movies to be more effective and, often, achieve the impossible.
Invisible health disorders, regrettably, are equally as potent and a lot less fun. As an example, tinnitus is a very common hearing condition. Regardless of how well you might look, there are no external symptoms.
But for those who experience tinnitus, though it may be invisible, the affect could be considerable.
What is tinnitus?
So we recognize one thing: you can’t see tinnitus. In fact, tinnitus is a disorder of the ears, which means symptoms are auditory in nature. You know that ringing in your ears you often hear after a rock concert or in a really quiet room? That’s tinnitus. Tinnitus is so common that about 25 million people experience it every day.
While ringing is the most typical presentation of tinnitus, it isn’t the only one. Noises like humming, buzzing, crackling, clicking, and a number of others can manifest. The one thing that all of these noises have in common is that they’re not real sounds at all.
For most individuals, tinnitus will be a short-term affair, it will come and go really quickly. But for somewhere between 2-5 million individuals, tinnitus is a chronic, sometimes incapacitating condition. Sure, it can be somewhat irritating to hear that ringing for a few minutes now and then. But what if you can’t be free from that sound, ever? Clearly, your quality of life would be significantly affected.
What causes tinnitus?
Have you ever had a headache and attempted to narrow down the cause? Are you catching a cold, are you stressed, or is it an allergic reaction? The difficulty is that quite a few issues can trigger headaches! The symptoms of tinnitus, though fairly common, also have a wide variety of causes.
The source of your tinnitus symptoms may, in some cases, be evident. In other situations, you might never really know. In general, however, tinnitus may be caused by the following:
- Hearing loss: There is a close connection between tinnitus and hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus can both be brought about by noise damage and that’s a large part of the situation here. Both of them have the same cause, in other words. But the ringing in your ears can sound louder with hearing loss because the outside world is quieter.
- Colds or allergies: If a lot of mucus accumulates in your ears, it might cause some inflammation. And tinnitus can be the consequence of this inflammation.
- Meniere’s Disease: This is a condition of the inner ear that can cause a wide range of symptoms. Tinnitus and dizziness are amongst the first symptoms to appear. Irreversible hearing loss can occur over time.
- Certain medications: Tinnitus symptoms can be triggered by certain over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Once you stop using the medication, the ringing will normally subside.
- Noise damage: Damage from loud noises can, after a while, cause tinnitus symptoms to develop. This is so common that loud noises are one of the top causes of tinnitus! The best way to counter this type of tinnitus is to steer clear of excessively loud settings (or use ear protection if avoidance isn’t possible).
- High blood pressure: For some individuals, tinnitus may be the consequence of high blood pressure. Getting your blood pressure under control with the help of your primary care provider is the best way to handle this.
- Ear infections or other blockages: Inflammation of the ear canal can be generated by things like seasonal allergies, a cold, or an ear infection. As a result, your ears could start ringing.
- Head or neck injuries: Your head is quite sensitive! Ringing in your ears can be triggered by traumatic brain injuries including concussions.
If you’re able to figure out the cause of your tinnitus, treating it could become easier. clearing away a blockage, for instance, will relieve tinnitus symptoms if that’s what is causing them. Some people, however, may never know what’s causing their tinnitus symptoms.
How is tinnitus diagnosed?
If your ears ring for a few minutes and then it subsides, it’s not really something that needs to be diagnosed (unless it occurs often). Still, having regular hearing tests is always a smart plan.
But you should certainly schedule an appointment with us if your tinnitus won’t go away or if it keeps coming back. We will conduct a hearing exam, discuss your symptoms and how they’re impacting your life, and maybe even talk about your medical history. All of that insight will be utilized to diagnose your symptoms.
How is tinnitus treated?
There’s no cure for tinnitus. But it can be addressed and it can be controlled.
If you’re taking a particular medication or have an underlying medical condition, your symptoms will get better when you address the underlying cause. However, if you’re dealing with chronic tinnitus, there will be no underlying condition that can be easily addressed.
For people who have chronic tinnitus then, the mission is to manage your symptoms and help ensure your tinnitus does not negatively impact your quality of life. We can help in a variety of ways. Here are some of the most prevalent:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: In terms of cognitive behavioral therapy, we might end up referring you to a different provider. This strategy uses therapy to help you learn to ignore the tinnitus sounds.
- A hearing aid: In some cases, tinnitus becomes obvious because your hearing loss is making everything else comparatively quieter. In these cases, a hearing aid can help raise the volume on the rest of the world, and overpower the buzzing or ringing you may be hearing from your tinnitus.
- A masking device: This is a device a lot like a hearing aid, except instead of boosting sounds, it masks sound. These devices can be adjusted to your unique tinnitus symptoms, generating just enough sound to make that ringing or buzzing substantially less obvious.
The treatment plan that we create will be custom-tailored to your specific tinnitus needs. The goal will be to help you manage your symptoms so that you can go back to enjoying your life!
If you have tinnitus, what should you do?
Even though tinnitus is invisible, it shouldn’t be ignored. Your symptoms will most likely get worse if you do. It’s better to get ahead of your symptoms because you may be able to stop them from getting worse. At the very least, you should get yourself hearing protection for your ears, make sure you’re using ear plugs or ear muffs whenever you are around loud noises.
If you have tinnitus that won’t go away (or keeps coming back) schedule an appointment with us to get a diagnosis.