Tinnitus is a really common medical condition. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million people around the world. This doesn’t even reference the more common forms of tinnitus, which for most people 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 no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. This might be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Tinnitus is frequently related to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will automatically lead to the other.
As a matter of fact, there are a significant variety of types of tinnitus. Managing these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it stem from? Well, it’s important to note that not all types of tinnitus are the same. The assorted causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But determining the cause can be essential to finding the proper treatment approach.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the result of a neurological issue, like a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. Hearing loss due to age can be another factor that can trigger tinnitus. The following are some other possible 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 weakened by injury it can activate neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear interact. The result is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the root causes of tinnitus, as well as others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, go away on its own. It may be permanent in other instances.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and has no external source and no one else can hear it. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is frequently also subjective tinnitus. There are a large number of sounds that can manifest with subjective tinnitus, including buzzing, ringing, screeching, roaring, thumping, and many others.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus does happen, though it’s not as common as subjective forms. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an example of this type of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are often quite constant for many people coping with them. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this characteristic. But, somatic tinnitus is different. This form of tinnitus becomes more severe when you move around. Typically, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to get worse when you move your head or neck.
Often, people will have more than one type of tinnitus simultaneously. 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 root cause of your tinnitus.
Getting tinnitus assistance
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you probably don’t have to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus sticks 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 contact us for a consultation.
After we identify the root cause of your symptoms, there are a few treatment strategies we can employ. A few of these techniques can minimize the severity of your symptoms making them less evident. We might also utilize masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Tinnitus can’t usually be cured, but it can be successfully managed. We will work with you to create treatments that work for your symptoms. This will help you enjoy life again by pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily disregarded.