Tinnitus is a common issue affecting people of all ages, where you hear buzzing or ringing even when there’s no actual sound around. It’s not a health problem on its own but a sign of some other issue. Things like exposure to loud noises, head or neck injuries, or getting older can cause it. Since only you can hear these sounds, dealing with tinnitus can be really frustrating and stressful. It can make it hard to communicate, affect your work and social life, and even lead to anxiety, trouble sleeping or feeling down. While there’s no cure for tinnitus, the team at Northeast Hearing Solutions can help you manage it, from utilizing the latest technologies to incorporating a therapy plan.
The Many Causes of Tinnitus
One of the challenges of dealing with tinnitus is that it can be caused by many underlying conditions and factors. These can influence the best type of treatment for you and the severity of your symptoms. The most common culprits behind your tinnitus symptoms include:
- Untreated hearing loss
- Exposure to loud noises
- Earwax blockages
- Meniere’s disease
- Head and neck injuries
- Natural aging
- Medication
- Stress and depression
- Vascular disorder
How Tinnitus Impacts Your Life
Dealing with tinnitus can really change how you go about your day. Imagine hearing a constant buzzing or ringing sound that others can’t hear – it can make it hard to focus, especially in quiet places. This noise might affect your work and make social situations more challenging. For some, it leads to feeling alone and stressed. Beyond that, tinnitus has been linked to increased anxiety, trouble sleeping and even feelings of sadness. While there’s no cure, finding ways to manage these sounds becomes crucial so you can still lead a satisfying daily life.
Tinnitus Treatment Options
The specific treatment option we recommend will vary based on what we discover while assessing your tinnitus. With that in mind, these are the three most common forms of care we recommend.
- Sound therapy: Sound therapy is also sometimes called acoustic therapy. It uses sounds to train the brain to re-focus on things besides your tinnitus. In this way, the emotional impact of your tinnitus can be diminished considerably.
- Hearing aids: Another common tinnitus treatment option is hearing aids. These have tinnitus-masking features that make them potentially beneficial to wear even if you’re not experiencing any hearing loss. A hearing aid can block out some of the tinnitus noise so it doesn’t have as much of an impact on your life.
- Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT): Finally, we may also recommend tinnitus retraining therapy or TRT. Like sound therapy, this kind of care attempts to retrain the brain into perceiving the tinnitus differently. This can make your symptoms feel more manageable while also helping with co-occurring issues like depression, stress and anger.
We’ll also recommend an ongoing maintenance care plan after you finish whatever form of therapy we recommend. This may include managing underlying health problems that can cause tinnitus or participating in other therapies related to your tinnitus and hearing health.