Tinnitus is a really common medical condition. Something like 20 million individuals regularly suffer from chronic 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 huge impact on their quality of life.
When you hear sounds in your ears that don’t have an external source and nobody else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It might manifest as a persistent buzzing or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately result in the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in numerous forms. And each one will call for a different treatment approach.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? Well, it’s essential to mention that not all types of tinnitus are the same. The assorted causes of tinnitus will manifest with similar symptoms. But distinguishing the cause can be crucial to finding the right treatment approach.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological issue, including a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. Hearing loss related to age can be another factor that can trigger tinnitus. The following are a few other potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear issues. The brain itself can sometimes be the cause. If your baseline neurological functions are impaired by injury it can trigger neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has gone wrong with the typical ways that your brain and ear interact. As a result, a phantom sound is heard which isn’t actually there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the underlying causes of tinnitus, as well as others. In some situations, neurological tinnitus may go away as the brain heals. For others, it could be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and has no external source and only you can hear it. This form of tinnitus comprises many other types of tinnitus as well. For example, 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: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is a real, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus is not quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an illustration of this type of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be abnormally loud.
- 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. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these types of tinnitus are not generally mutually exclusive. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus at the same time, for instance. Determining the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist decide the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Getting help with your tinnitus
If your tinnitus is here one minute and gone the next, you likely don’t need to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus sticks around or comes back frequently, it may have real and severe impacts on your everyday life. That’s when it’s especially important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some relief from your tinnitus.
After we identify the underlying cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment strategies we can utilize. A few of these techniques can decrease the intensity of your symptoms making them less obvious. Other treatment options can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, though 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 pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.