Tinnitus is a really prevalent medical condition. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for about 20 million people worldwide. This doesn’t even reference the more common types of tinnitus, which for most people can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
Tinnitus occurs when you hear a phantom noise, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. This could be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Although hearing loss is often associated with tinnitus, there isn’t necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship between the two.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. Treating these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
Exactly what is tinnitus and how is it caused? The first thing to understand is that tinnitus comes in a number of forms and causes. The various causes of tinnitus will manifest with similar symptoms. But it’s still crucial to identify the cause in order to effectively treat the symptoms.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the result of a neurological problem, including a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other instances, tinnitus might result from age-related hearing loss. Here are a few of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Problems with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the cause. If your baseline neurological functions are weakened by injury it can trigger neurological tinnitus. This means that the standard communication between your brain and ears isn’t working properly. As a result, a phantom noise is heard which isn’t actually there. Neurological tinnitus can be a result of 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 lasting.
- Subjective tinnitus: When you’re the only one who can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is really common, hearing specialists will refer to your condition as a subjective tinnitus. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for example, is frequently also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present as many different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is an actual, verifiable sound, it’s referred to as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus does happen, though it’s not as common as subjective types. Typically, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many people, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this attribute. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This form of tinnitus becomes more intense when you move around. Usually, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to become more intense when you move your head or neck.
Frequently, individuals will have more than one form of tinnitus simultaneously. For instance, you might have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. In order for us to formulate a treatment plan, we will first need to determine the root cause of your tinnitus.
Finding tinnitus assistance
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you likely don’t need to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus hangs around or returns frequently, it may have real and significant impacts on your day-to-day life. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to call us for a consultation.
After we identify the root cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment methods we can employ. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. We may also use masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Tinnitus can’t typically be cured, but it can be successfully managed. We will work with you to formulate treatments that work for your symptoms. That way, you can more easily disregard the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you enjoy.
