Tinnitus is an exceptionally common medical condition. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for about 20 million people around the world. And there are also more prevalent presentations of tinnitus which are much more mild and intermittent and are also easier to cope with.
When you hear sounds 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 shake. Tinnitus is frequently 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 a number of forms. Dealing with these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
What is tinnitus?
Exactly what is tinnitus and how is it caused? Well, it’s significant to mention that not all types of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But determining the cause can be essential to finding the right treatment strategy.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological problems can be the cause. In other instances, tinnitus may be caused by age-related hearing loss. The following are some other possible causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Problems with the ear are not always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or issues with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has broken down with the normal ways that your brain and ear interact. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that might 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, go away on its own. It might be irreversible in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and has no external source and no one else can hear it. Lots of other forms of tinnitus also fall into this category. For example, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. There are a large number of sounds that can manifest with subjective tinnitus, including buzzing, ringing, screeching, roaring, thumping, and lots of others.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is an actual, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus isn’t really as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still happens. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an example of this type of tinnitus. For people with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound typically seems louder than it should.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are frequently rather constant for many people coping with them. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this characteristic. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This type of tinnitus becomes more severe when you move around. Usually, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to become more intense when you move your head or neck.
Often, individuals will have more than one form of tinnitus at the same time. You may have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus at the same time, for example. Identifying the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Getting tinnitus support
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you likely don’t need to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus hangs around or returns frequently, it may have real and significant impacts on your everyday life. That’s when it’s especially important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
After we identify the root cause of your symptoms, there are a few treatment methods we can utilize. A few of these techniques can decrease the intensity of your symptoms making them less evident. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually be successfully managed. We will work with you to create treatments that work for your symptoms. This will help you enjoy life again by pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.