It’s very common for people to experience tinnitus. Tinnitus can become so overwhelming 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 a lot more mild and intermittent and are also easier to cope with.
When you hear sounds in your ears that don’t have an outside source and nobody else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. This could be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Although hearing loss is frequently accompanied by tinnitus, there isn’t always a cause-and-effect relationship between the two.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in numerous forms. Treating these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in numerous forms and causes. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But distinguishing the cause can be crucial to finding the best treatment strategy.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological issue, such as a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. Hearing loss related to age can be another aspect that can cause tinnitus. Here are some of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus isn’t always caused by ear problems. The brain itself can sometimes be the cause. If your baseline neurological functions are damaged by injury it can activate neurological tinnitus. This means that the normal communication between your brain and ears isn’t working properly. As a result, a phantom noise is heard which isn’t actually there. Neurological tinnitus can be caused by concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and more. In some instances, neurological tinnitus might resolve as the brain heals. For others, it could be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and doesn’t objectively exist and no one else can hear it. This type of tinnitus comprises many other forms of tinnitus as well. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is often also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present as many different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is an actual, verifiable sound, it’s referred to 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 form of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many people, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This is tinnitus that gets worse with movement. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most susceptible to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these forms of tinnitus aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, you might have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. In order for us to develop a treatment plan, we will first need to identify the underlying cause of your tinnitus.
Getting tinnitus assistance
If your tinnitus is here one minute and gone the next, you most 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 identify the root cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment methods we can use. A few of these strategies can minimize the severity 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 formulate treatments that work for your symptoms. That way, you can more easily ignore the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you enjoy.