It’s very common for individuals to experience tinnitus. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million individuals worldwide. And there are also more prevalent presentations of tinnitus which are much 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 nobody else can hear. This could be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Tinnitus is often linked to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately lead to the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. And each one will require a different approach to treatment.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
Exactly what is tinnitus and what are its causes? 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 it’s still essential to identify the cause in order to successfully treat the symptoms.
For some people, tinnitus is the result of a neurological problem, like a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. Hearing loss due to age can be another aspect that can trigger tinnitus. Here are a few of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus isn’t always caused by ear problems. The brain itself can sometimes be the cause. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. This means that the standard communication between your brain and ears isn’t functioning properly. As a result, a phantom sound is heard which isn’t actually there. Neurological tinnitus can be a result of concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and more. In some situations, neurological tinnitus may go away as the brain heals. It might be irreversible in other instances.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and doesn’t objectively exist and only you can hear it. This type of tinnitus comprises many other types of tinnitus also. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is often 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: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is a real, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus does occur, though it’s not as common as subjective types. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an illustration of this type of tinnitus. For people with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound typically seems louder than it ought to.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, 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. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most susceptible to movement of the head or neck areas.
The majority of these forms of tinnitus are not necessarily mutually exclusive. You may have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus at the same time, for example. Determining the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Getting help with your tinnitus
If your tinnitus is here one minute and gone the next, you likely don’t need to do anything about it. But your quality of life can be seriously impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are rather constant or keep returning. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to call us for a consultation.
After we determine the underlying cause of your symptoms, there are a few treatment methods we can employ. A few of these techniques can decrease the severity of your symptoms making them less apparent. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Tinnitus can’t typically be cured, but it can 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 enjoy.