It’s really common for people to experience tinnitus. Around 20 million individuals regularly suffer from chronic tinnitus so intense that it becomes burdensome. This does not even reference the more common forms of tinnitus, which for most individuals can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
When you hear noises in your ears that don’t have an external source and nobody else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. This may be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Tinnitus is frequently related to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately result in the other.
In fact, there are a significant variety of forms of tinnitus. And each one will call for a different treatment approach.
What is tinnitus?
Exactly what is tinnitus and how is it caused? Well, it’s significant to note that not all kinds of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still essential to identify the cause in order to successfully manage the symptoms.
In some cases, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. In other instances, tinnitus might result from age-related hearing loss. Here are some of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear issues. Sometimes, the root cause lies within the brain. If your baseline neurological functions are impaired by injury it can trigger neurological tinnitus. This means that the standard communication between your brain and ears isn’t working correctly. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the root sources of tinnitus, as well as others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, go away on its own. 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. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. For example, neurological tinnitus can also be 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 an actual, verifiable sound, it’s referred to as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus isn’t quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Most commonly, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, 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.
Frequently, people will have more than one type of tinnitus simultaneously. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus at the same time, for example. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Getting tinnitus assistance
You most likely won’t need to take any specific action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But your quality of life can be seriously impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are fairly constant or keep coming back. That’s when it’s particularly important to talk to a hearing specialist to get specialized care and find some relief from your tinnitus.
We have a few different tinnitus management strategies we may try depending on the root cause of your symptoms. A few of these techniques can decrease the intensity of your symptoms making them less evident. Other treatment options can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually be successfully treated. We will work with you to create 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.
