It’s really common for individuals to experience tinnitus. Something like 20 million individuals routinely 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 sounds in your ears that don’t have an external source and nobody else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It might manifest as a persistent buzzing or ringing in the ears. Although hearing loss is frequently accompanied by tinnitus, there isn’t necessarily a cause-and-effect connection between the two.
In fact, there are a substantial variety of forms of tinnitus. Managing these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in a number of forms and causes. The assorted causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But identifying the cause can be essential to finding the proper treatment approach.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. Hearing loss due to age can be another aspect that can cause tinnitus. Here are a few of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Problems with the ear are not always the cause of tinnitus. 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 normal communication between your brain and ears isn’t functioning correctly. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be due to concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and more. In some situations, neurological tinnitus might go away as the brain heals. For others, it may be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: When you’re the only one who can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is really common, hearing specialists will refer to your condition as a subjective tinnitus. This form of tinnitus comprises many other types of tinnitus also. For example, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present as lots of different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus is not quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still happens. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an example of this type of tinnitus. For those with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound typically seems louder than it ought to.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many people, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This is tinnitus that gets worse with movement. Usually, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to become more intense when you move your head or neck.
Often, individuals will have more than one type of tinnitus simultaneously. For instance, you might have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. Determining the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist decide the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Getting tinnitus assistance
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you probably don’t have to do anything about it. But your quality of life can be significantly impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are rather constant or keep returning. 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 strategies we may try depending on the underlying cause of your symptoms. A few of these techniques can minimize the intensity of your symptoms making them less apparent. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Tinnitus can’t usually be cured, but it can be effectively managed. We will work with you to formulate treatments that work for your symptoms. This will help you enjoy life again by moving your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.