It isn’t uncommon for individuals to have ringing in their ears, also known as tinnitus. Some estimates suggest that 10 percent of people have tinnitus at one point or another, making it one of the most prevalent health conditions in the world. The condition manifests as a sound in the ear that isn’t really there, normally, it’s a buzzing or ringing, but tinnitus can take the form of other sounds as well.
While the preponderance of tinnitus may be obvious, the causes are frequently more cloudy. Some of the wide variety of tinnitus causes are temporary, while others can be more permanent.
That’s why your environment can be really important. If the background sound of your particular setting is very noisy, you might be damaging your hearing. If your tinnitus is caused by damage, it could end up being permanent.
Why do so many individuals experience tinnitus?
When you hear noises that aren’t really there, that’s tinnitus. For the majority of individuals, tinnitus manifests as a buzzing or ringing, but it might also present as thumping, humming, screeching, or other noises as well. Usually, the sounds are constant or rhythmic. Tinnitus will usually clear itself up after a short period of time. Though not as common, chronic tinnitus is effectively permanent.
There are a couple of reasons why tinnitus is so common. Firstly, environmental factors that can play a role in tinnitus are quite common. The second reason is that tinnitus is often a symptom of a root condition or injury. And there are lots of conditions and injuries that can result in tinnitus. Tinnitus is rather common for these reasons.
How can the environment impact tinnitus?
There are a large number of factors that can contribute to tinnitus symptoms, including ototoxic chemicals and medications. But when it comes to “environmental” triggers, noise is the biggest culprit. Some settings, such as noisy city streets, can get really loud. Someone would be in danger of environmental tinnitus, for example, if they worked around loud industrial equipment.
When assessing the state of your health, these environmental factors are very significant.
Noise induced damage, as with hearing loss, can cause tinnitus symptoms. In these situations, the resulting tinnitus tends to be chronic in nature. Some of the most common noise and environment-induced causes of tinnitus include the following:
- Traffic: You may not even realize how loud traffic can be in densely populated locations. And you might not even realize that your ears can be damaged at lower volumes than you might expect. Tinnitus and hearing damage can be the outcome of long commutes in these loud locations.
- Events: If noise is loud enough, even over short periods, tinnitus can sometimes be the outcome. Firing a gun or going to a rock concert are instances of this kind of noise.
- Music: Many individuals will frequently listen to their music at loud volumes. Tinnitus will often be the outcome if you do this frequently.
- Noise in the workplace: Many workplaces, including offices, are often the source of loud noises. Whether it’s industrial equipment or gabby office neighbors, spending eight hours a day around constant workplace noise can eventually lead to tinnitus.
Hearing damage can occur at a much lower volume than people generally expect. Because of this, hearing protection should be used at lower volumes than you may expect. Hearing protection can help you avoid tinnitus symptoms from developing in the first place.
If I have tinnitus, what should I do?
Will tinnitus clear up on its own? Well, in some cases it may. In other cases, your symptoms may be irreversible. At first, it’s basically impossible to tell which is which. Moreover, just because your tinnitus has gone away for now doesn’t mean that noise damage hasn’t happened, leading to an increased risk of chronic tinnitus in the future.
One of the most significant contributing factors to the advancement of tinnitus is that individuals tend to underestimate the volume at which damage occurs to their ears. Damage has most likely already happened if you’re experiencing tinnitus. This means that there are a number of things that you should do to alter your environment so as to prevent more permanent damage.
For instance, you could try:
- If possible, try to decrease environmental volume. For instance, you could shut the windows if you live in a noisy area or turn off industrial equipment that is not in use.
- If you’re in a noisy setting, regulate the amount of exposure time and give your ears rests.
- Wearing hearing protection (either earplugs or earmuffs) in order to prevent damage. You can also get some amount of protection from noise canceling headphones.
How to deal with your symptoms
The symptoms of tinnitus are frequently a huge distraction and are really uncomfortable for the majority of individuals who deal with them. Because of this, they often ask: how do you quiet tinnitus?
If you hear a ringing or buzzing sound, it’s essential to make an appointment, particularly if the sound won’t go away. We can help you determine the best way to manage your particular situation. For the majority of cases of persistent tinnitus, there’s no cure. Symptom management might include the following:
- Relaxation techniques: High blood pressure has sometimes been linked to an increase in the intensity of tinnitus symptoms. Your tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be eased by using relaxation techniques like meditation, for instance.
- Hearing aid: The ringing or buzzing produced by tinnitus can be drowned out by boosting the volume of external sounds with hearing aids.
- Retraining therapy: In some situations, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, slowly modifying the way you process sound.
- Masking device: This device is a lot like a hearing aid, only instead of amplifying sounds, it masks them. Your device will be specially calibrated to mask your tinnitus symptoms.
- White noise devices: In some cases, you can tune out some of your tinnitus symptoms by utilizing a white noise generator around your house.
There’s no cure for tinnitus. That’s why managing your environment to safeguard your hearing is a great first step.
But tinnitus can be managed and managed. Depending on your lifestyle, your hearing, and your tinnitus, we’ll be able to develop a specific treatment plan for you. For some, managing your tinnitus may simply mean making use of a white noise machine. In other cases, a more extensive approach might be needed.
Learn how to best control your tinnitus by making an appointment right away!