Tinnitus: The Invisible Condition with a Big Impact

Invisibility is a really useful power in the movies. The characters can often do the impossible if they possess the power of invisibility, whether it’s a spaceship with cloaking ability or a wizard with an invisibility cloak.

Regrettably, invisible health disorders are no less potent…and they’re a lot less fun. As an illustration, tinnitus is an extremely common hearing condition. But there are no outward symptoms, it doesn’t matter how well you look.

But for individuals who experience tinnitus, though it may be invisible, the affect could be considerable.

What is tinnitus?

One thing we know for certain about tinnitus is that it can’t be seen. Actually, tinnitus symptoms are auditory in nature, being a disorder of the ears. You know that ringing in your ears you sometimes hear after a rock concert or in a really quiet room? That’s tinnitus. Now, tinnitus is fairly common (somewhere around 25 million people experience tinnitus every year).

While ringing is the most common manifestation of tinnitus, it isn’t the only one. Some individuals might hear humming, crunching, metallic sounds, all sorts of things. Here’s the common denominator, anyone who has tinnitus is hearing noises that are not really there.

For most individuals, tinnitus will be a short-lived affair, it will come and go really quickly. But tinnitus is a long-term and debilitating condition for between 2-5 million people. Sure, it can be a little annoying to hear that ringing for a few minutes now and then. But what if you can’t be free from that sound, ever? it’s not hard to see how that might start to substantially impact your quality of life.

Tinnitus causes

Have you ever tried to pinpoint the cause of a headache? Are you getting a cold, is it stress, or is it allergies? A number of things can cause a headache and that’s the problem. The symptoms of tinnitus, though rather common, also have a large number of causes.

The cause of your tinnitus symptoms may, in some cases, be evident. But you may never really know in other situations. Generally speaking, however, tinnitus may be caused by the following:

• Meniere’s Disease: A good number of symptoms can be caused by this disorder of the inner ear. Dizziness and tinnitus are among the first symptoms to manifest. Permanent hearing loss can happen over time.
• Ear infections or other blockages: Inflammation of the ear canal can be generated by things like seasonal allergies, a cold, or an ear infection. As a result, your ears could start ringing.
• Colds or allergies: Swelling can happen when lots of mucus backs up in your ears. This inflammation can cause tinnitus.
• Hearing loss: There is a close association between tinnitus and hearing loss. Partly, that’s because noise damage can also be a strong contributor to sensorineural hearing loss. In other words, they both have the same cause. But the ringing in your ears can sound louder with hearing loss because the external world is quieter.
• Certain medications: Certain over-the-counter or prescription medicines can cause you to hear ringing in your ears. Once you stop taking the medication, the ringing will normally go away.
• Noise damage: Tinnitus symptoms can be triggered by exposure to overly loud noise over time. This is so prevalent that loud noises are one of the top causes of tinnitus! The best way to prevent this type of tinnitus is to avoid overly loud settings (or wear hearing protection if avoidance isn’t possible).
• High blood pressure: For some individuals, tinnitus may be caused by high blood pressure. If this is the case, it’s a smart plan to check with your primary care provider in order to help control your blood pressure.
• Head or neck injuries: Your head is rather sensitive! Ringing in your ears can be triggered by traumatic brain injuries including concussions.

Treatment will clearly be simpler if you can figure out the cause of your tinnitus symptoms. For instance, if an earwax blockage is triggering ringing in your ears, cleaning out that earwax can relieve your symptoms. But the cause of their tinnitus symptoms may never be identified for some people.

Diagnosing Tinnitus

Tinnitus that only lasts a few minutes isn’t something that you really need to have diagnosed. Having said that, it’s never a bad strategy to check in with us to schedule a hearing evaluation.

However, if your tinnitus won’t go away or continues to come back, you should make an appointment with us to find out what’s going on (or at least start treatment). We will ask you about your symptoms, talk to you about how your quality of life is being impacted, complete a hearing test, and most likely discuss your medical history. All of that information will be used to diagnose your symptoms.

How is tinnitus treated?

Tinnitus isn’t a condition that can be cured. But it can be addressed and it can be managed.

If you’re taking a particular medication or have an underlying medical condition, your symptoms will improve when you deal with the base cause. But there will be no known root condition to manage if you’re dealing with chronic tinnitus.

So managing symptoms so they have a minimal impact on your life is the objective if you have persistent tinnitus. There are lots of things that we can do to help. amongst the most prevalent are the following:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy: We may refer you to another provider for cognitive behavior therapy. This approach uses therapy to help you learn to ignore the tinnitus sounds.
• A hearing aid: When you have hearing loss, external sounds get quieter and your tinnitus symptoms become more obvious. The buzzing or ringing will be less apparent when your hearing aid boosts the volume of the external world.
• A masking device: This is a hearing aid-like device that masks sounds instead of boosting them. These devices can be calibrated to your unique tinnitus symptoms, producing just enough sound to make that ringing or buzzing substantially less noticeable.

We will formulate an individualized and unique treatment plan for you and your tinnitus. Helping you get back to enjoying your life by managing your symptoms is the goal here.

If you have tinnitus, what should you do?

Tinnitus might be invisible, but the last thing you should do is act like it isn’t there. Your symptoms will likely get worse if you do. It’s better to get ahead of your symptoms because you might be able to prevent them from getting worse. You should at least be certain to have your ear protection handy whenever you’re going to be around loud sound.

If you have tinnitus that won’t go away (or keeps coming back) make an appointment with us to get a diagnosis.