Tinnitus is an exceptionally prevalent medical condition. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million people around the world. This doesn’t even count the more common forms of tinnitus, which for most people can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
Tinnitus happens when you hear a phantom sound, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. It could 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 automatically lead to the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in numerous forms. And each one will call for a different treatment approach.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? Well, it’s significant to note that not all kinds of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still essential to determine the cause in order to successfully treat the symptoms.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological problems can be the cause. Hearing loss related to age can be another factor that can cause tinnitus. The following are some other potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Issues with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the cause. Neurological tinnitus is a result of injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. This means that the typical communication between your brain and ears isn’t functioning correctly. The result is that you hear a phantom sound that might not be there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the root causes of tinnitus, as well as others. In some instances, neurological tinnitus might go away as the brain heals. It may be permanent in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: When you’re the only one who can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is really common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. This form of tinnitus comprises many other forms of tinnitus also. For instance, neurological tinnitus can also be 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 isn’t really as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still happens. Most commonly, this means you’re dealing with something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are frequently rather constant for many individuals coping with them. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This form of tinnitus becomes more extreme when you move around. Normally, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to get worse when you move your head or neck.
The majority of these types of tinnitus are not generally mutually exclusive. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. Identifying the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Getting tinnitus support
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you probably don’t have to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus hangs around or returns frequently, it might have real and significant impacts on your day-to-day life. That’s when it’s particularly important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
We have a few different tinnitus management methods we may try depending on the root cause of your symptoms. A few of these strategies can decrease the intensity of your symptoms making them less apparent. We might also utilize masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, although it can usually be successfully treated. We will help you personalize the best treatment for your particular situation. That way, you can more easily disregard the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you love.