Tinnitus is an incredibly prevalent medical condition. Around 20 million people routinely suffer from chronic tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. And there are also more prevalent presentations of tinnitus which are a lot more mild and sporadic and are also easier to deal with.
Tinnitus happens when you hear a phantom sound, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. This might be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Tinnitus is often linked 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 numerous forms. And each one will require a different approach to treatment.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it stem from? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in a number of types and causes. The assorted causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But it’s still essential to identify the cause in order to effectively manage the symptoms.
For some people, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological problem, 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 potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Issues with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. If your baseline neurological functions are impaired by injury it can activate neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear interact. As a result, a phantom noise is heard which isn’t really there. Neurological tinnitus can be caused by concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and more. In some instances, neurological tinnitus may go away as the brain heals. For others, it may be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: When only you can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is quite common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. This type of tinnitus comprises many other types of tinnitus as well. For instance, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present as many different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and 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 abnormally loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many people, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This is tinnitus that gets worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
Frequently, people will have more than one type of tinnitus simultaneously. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. In order for us to put together a treatment plan, we will first need to determine the underlying cause of your tinnitus.
Getting assistance with your tinnitus
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you probably don’t need to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus sticks around or comes back frequently, it may have real and severe impacts on your day-to-day life. When that happens, your best plan to get some relief is to contact us for a consultation.
We have a number of different tinnitus management methods we may try depending on the underlying cause of your symptoms. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less noticeable. We may also employ masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually 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 love.