Tinnitus is an exceptionally common medical condition. Around 20 million people regularly cope with chronic tinnitus so intense that it becomes burdensome. This doesn’t even reference the more common types of tinnitus, which for most individuals can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
When you hear noises in your ears that don’t have an external source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It might manifest as a continual buzzing or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is often related to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately result in the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. Treating these varieties of tinnitus will require different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
Exactly what is tinnitus and how is it caused? Well, it’s significant to mention that not all types of tinnitus are the same. The assorted causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But distinguishing the cause can be crucial to identifying the best treatment approach.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological issue, such as a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other instances, tinnitus may be caused by age-related hearing loss. The following are a few other possible causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear issues. The brain itself can sometimes be the cause. Neurological tinnitus is a result of injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. This means that the typical communication between your brain and ears isn’t functioning correctly. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that might not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be caused by concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and more. In some cases, neurological tinnitus may go away as the brain heals. It might be irreversible in other instances.
- Subjective tinnitus: When only you 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. For instance, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can manifest as many different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: When you have objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus is not quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Typically, this means you’re dealing with something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. For those with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound usually seems louder than it ought to.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this characteristic. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This type of tinnitus becomes more extreme when you move around. Normally, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to get worse when you move your head or neck.
Often, individuals will have more than one form of tinnitus at the same time. For instance, you may have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Finding tinnitus support
You probably won’t have to take any specific action if your tinnitus symptoms are intermittent. But your quality of life can be seriously impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are fairly constant or keep returning. When that happens, 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 few treatment strategies we can use. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. We may also utilize masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, although it can usually be effectively treated. We will help you customize the best treatment for your particular situation. That way, you can more easily ignore the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you love.