A whopping four in ten adults experience tinnitus 80% of the time during the day, which can be debilitating and annoying.
Many Americans suffer from tinnitus without ever knowing that their problem has a name and different methods of treatment available. A whopping four in ten adults experience tinnitus 80% of the time during the day, which can be debilitating and annoying. Read on to learn more about tinnitus and how you can alleviate your symptoms.
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is hearing any sound that has no external source. Tinnitus can describe anything from hearing a ringing in the ears, humming, buzzing, or even cricket-like noises with no explanation. Many sufferers of tinnitus have sounds that change from ear to ear, change in pitch, or that change “sounds” altogether. Before you worry that something is wrong, realize that having tinnitus does not mean you are hearing “phantom sounds.” Instead, there is neural activity in your brain that is telling you that you are hearing noises that are not there.
What Causes Tinnitus?
This ringing or buzzing can be caused by a wide variety of things, including almost anything that can cause hearing loss. The most common causes of tinnitus are:
- Noise exposure (not wearing protection at the shooting range, loud machines at work, or a loud concert)
- Aging
- Head injury (a fall, a car accident, a concussion)
- Medication (as a side effect)
How Can You Treat Tinnitus?
Just as tinnitus has a variety of causes, it has a wide variety of solutions that could work to treat your tinnitus. Unfortunately, there is no one cure that has been shown to completely eliminate tinnitus in most sufferers. However, one or a combination of the following could help:
- If possible, eliminate the medication that is causing your tinnitus
- If your tinnitus is caused by a dietary deficiency, nutritional supplements could help
- Rare forms of middle-ear tinnitus can be treated with surgery
- Participate in counseling
- Use sound therapy to deal with the background noise
- Consult with your doctors about using hearing aids to help improve your ability to communicate and potentially mask some of the tinnitus
- Improve your sleep to see if your cognitive function and tinnitus improve as a result
Tinnitus Solutions from Clarity Audiology
Clarity Audiology & Hearing Solutions offers state-of-the-art hearing solutions for any hearing loss you are experiencing. We specialize in diagnosing and treating hearing loss, fitting and programming hearing aids, and helping you hear again. Contact us today to schedule an appointment online or by calling 410-698-6594. To see what we are up to, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.