Invisibility is a really useful power in the movies. Whether it’s a mud-covered hero, a cloaked starship, or a stealthy ninja, invisibility allows people in movies to be more effectual and, often, accomplish the impossible.
Invisible health conditions, regrettably, are just as potent and a lot less enjoyable. As an illustration, tinnitus is a very common hearing condition. But there are no external symptoms, it doesn’t matter how well you look.
But just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean tinnitus doesn’t have a considerable affect on individuals who experience symptoms.
What is tinnitus?
One thing we recognize for sure about tinnitus is that you can’t see it. Actually, tinnitus symptoms are auditory in nature, being a disorder of the ears. 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 prevalent that about 25 million people experience it every day.
While ringing is the most typical presentation of tinnitus, it’s not the only one. Some people may hear humming, crunching, metallic noises, all sorts of things. The one thing that all of these sounds have in common is that they’re not actual sounds at all.
For most people, tinnitus will be a temporary affair, it will come and go really quickly. But for somewhere between 2-5 million people, tinnitus is a chronic, sometimes debilitating condition. Here’s one way to think about it: hearing that ringing in your ears for five or ten minutes is irritating, but you can distract yourself easily and move on. But what if you can’t get rid of that sound, ever? Clearly, your quality of life would be substantially affected.
Tinnitus causes
Have you ever attempted to pinpoint the cause of a headache? Are you catching a cold, are you stressed, or is it allergies? The trouble is that lots of issues can trigger headaches! The same is also true of tinnitus, even though the symptoms might be common, the causes are extensive.
The source of your tinnitus symptoms might, in some cases, be obvious. In other situations, you might never truly know. In general, however, tinnitus may be caused by the following:
- High blood pressure: High blood pressure can trigger tinnitus symptoms for some individuals. Getting your blood pressure under control with the help of your primary care provider is the best way to handle this.
- Head or neck injuries: Your head is rather sensitive! So head injuries, especially traumatic brain injuries (including concussions)–can end up causing tinnitus symptoms.
- Hearing loss: There is a close association between tinnitus and hearing loss. Partly, that’s because noise damage can also be a direct contributor to sensorineural hearing loss. In other words, both of them have the same cause. But the ringing in your ears can sound louder with hearing loss because the outside world is quieter.
- Noise damage: Tinnitus symptoms can be triggered by exposure to excessively loud noise over time. This is so prevalent that loud noises are one of the top causes of tinnitus! Wearing ear protection if extremely loud places can’t be avoided is the best way to counter this type of tinnitus.
- Meniere’s Disease: Quite a few symptoms can be caused by this disorder of the inner ear. Among the first symptoms, however, are typically tinnitus and dizziness. With time, Meniere’s disease can result in permanent hearing loss.
- Ear infections or other blockages: Similar to a cold or seasonal allergies, ear infections, and other obstructions can cause inflammation in the ear canal. This sometimes causes ringing in your ears.
- Certain medications: Tinnitus symptoms can be caused by some over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Once you quit taking the medication, the ringing will typically go away.
- Colds or allergies: If a lot of mucus accumulates in your ears, it may cause some inflammation. And tinnitus can be the consequence of this inflammation.
If you’re able to figure out the cause of your tinnitus, treatment may become easier. Cleaning out a blockage, for instance, will alleviate tinnitus symptoms if that’s what is causing them. Some individuals, however, might never know what’s causing their tinnitus symptoms.
Diagnosing Tinnitus
If you have ringing in your ears for a few minutes and then it subsides, it isn’t really something that needs to be diagnosed (unless it takes place frequently). Still, getting regular hearing assessments is always a good idea.
However, if your tinnitus won’t subside or keeps coming back, you should make an appointment with us to find out what’s going on (or at least begin treatment). We will ask you about your symptoms, talk to you about how your quality of life is being impacted, do a hearing exam, and most likely discuss your medical history. All of that information will be used to diagnose your symptoms.
Treating tinnitus
There’s no cure for tinnitus. But it can be treated and it can be controlled.
If you’re taking a particular medication or have a root medical condition, your symptoms will improve when you address the underlying cause. But there will be no known root condition to treat if you’re dealing with chronic tinnitus.
For those who have chronic tinnitus then, the mission is to manage your symptoms and help ensure your tinnitus doesn’t negatively affect your quality of life. We can help in many ways. Here are a few of the most common:
- A masking device: This is a hearing aid-like device that masks sounds instead of boosting them. These devices can be adjusted to your distinctive tinnitus symptoms, creating just enough sound to make that ringing or buzzing substantially less obvious.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: We might refer you to a different provider for cognitive behavior therapy. This is a therapeutic strategy created to help you not pay attention to the ringing in your ears.
- A hearing aid: When you have hearing loss, external sounds become quieter and your tinnitus symptoms become more apparent. The buzzing or ringing will be less obvious when your hearing aid boosts the volume of the external world.
The treatment plan that we formulate will be custom-designed to your specific tinnitus needs. Helping you get back to enjoying your life by managing your symptoms is the objective here.
What should you do if you’re dealing with tinnitus?
Tinnitus might be invisible, but the last thing you should do is act like it isn’t there. Odds are, those symptoms will only get worse. You may be able to stop your symptoms from getting worse if you can get in front of them. At the very least, you should invest in hearing protection for your ears, be certain you’re wearing ear plugs or ear muffs whenever you’re around loud noises.
If you have tinnitus that won’t go away (or keeps coming back) make an appointment with us to get a diagnosis.
