Tinnitus is an incredibly prevalent medical condition. Around 20 million people regularly suffer from persistent tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. This does not even reference the more common forms of tinnitus, which for most individuals can come and go without causing a major impact on their quality of life.
When you hear sounds in your ears that don’t have an outside source and nobody else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. This could be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Tinnitus is frequently linked to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will automatically result in the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. And each one will require a different treatment approach.
What is tinnitus?
Exactly what is tinnitus and how is it caused? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in a number of forms and causes. Regardless of the specific cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still crucial to determine the cause in order to successfully manage the symptoms.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological problem, such as a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other circumstances, tinnitus may be caused by age-related hearing loss. The following are a few 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 standard communication between your brain and ears isn’t functioning correctly. As a result, a phantom sound is heard which isn’t actually there. Neurological tinnitus can be due to concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and more. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some instances, go away on its own. For others, it could be permanent.
- 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. This type of tinnitus includes many other forms of tinnitus as well. For instance, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can manifest as lots of different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and more.
- Objective tinnitus: When you have objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus isn’t quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still happens. Typically, 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 usually seems louder than it should.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are often rather constant for many individuals coping with them. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Normally, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to get worse when you move your head or neck.
The majority of these forms of tinnitus are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For instance, you may have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. In order for us to put together a treatment plan, we will first need to identify the underlying cause of your tinnitus.
Finding tinnitus support
You most likely won’t have to take any particular action if your tinnitus symptoms are intermittent. But your quality of life can be seriously impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are fairly constant or keep coming back. When that happens, 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. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less obvious. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, although it can usually be effectively treated. We will help you customize the best treatment for your particular situation. This will help you enjoy life again by moving your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.