It’s very common for individuals to experience tinnitus. Something like 20 million people regularly cope with persistent tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. This does not 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.
When you hear noises 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 get rid of. 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, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. And each one will call for a different treatment approach.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it stem from? Well, it’s important to mention that not all kinds of tinnitus are the same. The assorted causes of tinnitus will manifest with similar symptoms. But it’s still essential to identify the cause in order to successfully manage the symptoms.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological problem, such as a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other instances, tinnitus might be caused by age-related hearing loss. The following are a few other potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear problems. In some cases, the underlying cause lies within the brain. 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. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be due to concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, clear up on its own. For others, it could be permanent.
- 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. This type of tinnitus includes many other forms of tinnitus also. Neurological tinnitus, for example, is frequently also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can manifest as many different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and more.
- Objective tinnitus: When you have objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus isn’t 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. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be abnormally loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are frequently quite constant for many people coping with them. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these types of tinnitus aren’t generally mutually exclusive. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. In order for us to formulate a treatment plan, we will first need to identify the root cause of your tinnitus.
Getting tinnitus support
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you most likely don’t have to do anything about it. But your quality of life can be significantly impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are rather constant or keep returning. That’s when it’s particularly important to speak with a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
We have a number of different tinnitus management strategies we might try depending on the root cause of your symptoms. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. Other treatment options can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, although it can usually be effectively managed. We will help you personalize the best treatment for your specific situation. This will help you enjoy life again by moving your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.
