You have a ringing in your ears and it’s not improving, if anything it’s getting worse. At first, you could barely notice it. But you’ve observed how loud and persistent the tinnitus noises have become after an entire day on the job at a construction site. Sometimes, it sounds like ringing or other noises. You don’t know if you should contact us or how ringing in your ears could even be managed.
The origin of your tinnitus symptoms will substantially determine what treatment will be most suitable for you. But your own tinnitus treatment will share some common threads with others that can help you get ready.
There are a couple of different types of tinnitus
Tinnitus is incredibly common. The buzzing or ringing (or any number of noises) in your ear can be caused by a number of underlying issues. So in terms of treatment, tinnitus is normally divided into one of two categories:
- Medical Tinnitus: Underlying medical issues, including ear infections, excessive earwax, a growth, or other medical problems, can be the cause of tinnitus. Medical providers will usually attempt to treat the root problem as their primary priority.
- Non-Medical Tinnitus: “Non-medical” nomenclature is generally reserved for tinnitus caused by damaged hearing or hearing impairment. As time passes, exposure to harmful noise (such as the noise at your construction site) can cause constant, severe, and chronic tinnitus. Non-medical tinnitus is often more challenging to manage.
The kind of tinnitus you have, and the root cause of the hearing ailment, will establish the best ways to manage those symptoms.
Treating medical tinnitus
If your tinnitus is caused by an underlying medical condition, it’s likely that managing your original illness or disorder will relieve the ringing in your ears. Treatments for medical tinnitus could include:
- Hydrocortisone: Not all infections can be addressed with antibiotics. For instance, antibiotics never work on viral infections. Hydrocortisone might be prescribed in these situations to treat other symptoms.
- Antibiotics: Your doctor may prescribe you with antibiotics if your tinnitus is related to a bacterial ear infection. Once the infection goes away, it’s likely that your hearing will go back to normal.
- Surgery: Doctors may decide to do surgery to eliminate any tumor or growth that might be causing your tinnitus symptoms.
If your tinnitus is related to a medical problem, you’ll want to see us to receive individualized treatment options.
Non-medical tinnitus treatments
Usually, medical tinnitus is much easier to diagnose and treat than non-medical tinnitus. There is usually no cure for non-medical tinnitus (especially in cases where the tinnitus is caused by hearing damage). Instead, treatment to enhance quality of life by alleviating symptoms is the normal strategy.
- Medications: There are some experimental medications available for dealing with tinnitus. For instance, steroids and anti-anxiety medication mixtures can sometimes help minimize tinnitus symptoms. But before you make any decisions, you’ll want to speak with us.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy: In some instances, you can be trained to ignore the noises of your tinnitus. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a commonly utilized method created to help you achieve just that.
- Hearing aids: If your tinnitus becomes more dominant as your hearing wanes, a hearing aid could help you control the symptoms of both conditions. When you are dealing with hearing loss everything outside gets quieter and that can make your tinnitus noises seem louder. A hearing aid can help mask the sound of your tinnitus by raising the volume of everything else.
- Noise-masking devices: Sometimes called “white noise machines,” these devices are made to supply enough sound to minimize your ability to hear the ringing or buzzing brought on by your tinnitus. These devices can be attenuated to generate certain sounds created to balance out your tinnitus symptoms.
Find what works
In order to effectively treat your hearing problems you will probably need to try out several strategies as the exact cause of your tinnitus probably won’t be obvious. Depending on the source of your ringing or buzzing, there may not be a cure for your tinnitus. But numerous different treatments are available that could reduce the symptoms. Finding the best one for you is the trick.