It’s really common for people to experience tinnitus. Around 20 million individuals regularly suffer from persistent tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. This doesn’t even reference the more common forms of tinnitus, which for most individuals can come and go without causing a major impact on their quality of life.
Tinnitus happens when you hear a phantom sound, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. This might be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Tinnitus is often 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. Dealing with 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 several forms and causes. The assorted causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But distinguishing the cause can be essential to identifying the correct treatment approach.
In some cases, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. In other circumstances, tinnitus may result from age-related hearing loss. Here are a few of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear problems. Sometimes, the underlying cause lies within the brain. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear communicate. The result is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be a result of concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some cases, go away on its own. For others, it may be lasting.
- Subjective tinnitus: When only you can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is very common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. Lots of other forms of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is frequently also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can manifest as lots of different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and more.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is a real, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus isn’t quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Typically, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which happens when you’re hearing your heartbeat or circulatory system. 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. But, somatic tinnitus is different. This form of tinnitus becomes more extreme when you move around. Typically, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
The majority of these types of tinnitus aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. Identifying the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist decide the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Finding tinnitus assistance
You probably won’t have to take any particular action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But if your tinnitus hangs around or comes back frequently, it might have real and serious impacts on your everyday life. That’s when it’s especially important to talk to a hearing specialist to get specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
We have several different tinnitus management methods we might try depending on the underlying cause of your symptoms. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. We might also employ masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually be successfully treated. 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.