It isn’t uncommon for people to have ringing in their ears, also known as tinnitus. It’s one of the most common health conditions in the world with some estimates suggesting that up to 10 percent of the population experiences it at one time or another. Even though the most common manifestation of tinnitus is a phantom ringing or buzzing in your ear, it can also present as other sounds too.
Sadly, the causes of tinnitus aren’t as evident as the symptoms. Some of the wide range of tinnitus causes are temporary, while others can be more permanent.
This is why environmental factors can Have a major impact on tinnitus symptoms. After all, every environment has a soundscape, and when that soundscape is noisy, you could be causing damage to your ears. If your tinnitus is a result of damage, it could end up being permanent.
Why do so many people experience tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a condition that causes you to hear a sound that isn’t actually there. Tinnitus normally manifests as a ringing or buzzing, but can also manifest as other noises, like screeching, thumping, or humming. The sounds are normally rhythmic in nature. For the majority of people, tinnitus will happen over a short period of time before resolving itself and vanishing. In less common cases, tinnitus may become effectively permanent, a condition known as chronic tinnitus.
There are a couple of reasons why tinnitus is so prevalent. The first is that the environmental factors that contribute to tinnitus are also quite common (more on that soon). Underlying conditions and injuries can bring about tinnitus symptoms and that accounts for the second reason. And there are lots of conditions and injuries that can result in tinnitus. Tinnitus is quite common for these reasons.
How is tinnitus impacted by environmental factors?
Other things can also produce tinnitus, including ototoxic medicines and chemicals. However, when most people discuss “environment” in terms of tinnitus, they really mean the noise. Some settings, such as noisy city streets, can get very loud. Likewise, anyone who works around industrial equipment all day would be at risk of their environment worsening their tinnitus.
These environmental factors can be incredibly important when considering your hearing health.
As with hearing loss, noise-related damage can eventually cause tinnitus symptoms. In these situations, the resulting tinnitus is often chronic in nature. Here are some of the most prevalent noise-related causes of tinnitus:
- Events: Tinnitus can sometimes result from loud noises, even if they aren’t experienced over a long time-period. Shooting a gun or going to a rock concert are instances of this type of noise.
- Noise in the workplace: Lots of workplaces, including offices, are frequently the source of loud noises. Tinnitus can eventually result from being in these places for eight hours a day, whether it’s industrial equipment or the din of lots of people talking in an office.
- Traffic: You might not even realize how loud traffic can be in densely populated locations. And noise damage can happen at a lower volume than you may expect. Tinnitus and hearing damage can be the outcome of long commutes in these loud settings.
- Music: Many individuals will often listen to their music at loud volumes. Doing this on a consistent basis can frequently trigger tinnitus symptoms.
People often wrongly think damage to their ears will only occur at extreme volume levels. As a result, it’s essential to wear hearing protection before you think you might need it. Noise related tinnitus symptoms can frequently be avoided altogether by doing this.
What should I do if I have tinnitus?
So, does tinnitus go away? Well, in some instances it may. But your symptoms may be irreversible in some instances. There’s no way to tell which is which at the beginning. Likewise, just because your tinnitus has gone away for now doesn’t mean that noise damage has not happened, leading to an increased chance of chronic tinnitus in the future.
People tend to underestimate the minimum volume that damage begins to happen, which is the most significant contributing factor to its development. If you experience tinnitus, your body is telling you that damage has already probably occurred. This means that there are several things that you should do to alter your environment so as to prevent more irreparable damage.
Here are some tips you can try:
- If possible, try to lower environmental volume. If you have any machinery that isn’t in use, turn it off, and shut the windows if it’s noisy outside, for instance.
- Using hearing protection (either earplugs or earmuffs) in order to prevent damage. Noise canceling headphones can also be an asset in this regard.
- If you’re in a noisy environment, regulate the amount of exposure time and give your ears breaks.
Dealing with symptoms
Lots of people who experience persistent tinnitus find the symptoms to be enormously disruptive and unpleasant. As a result, they often ask: how do you quiet tinnitus?
You should call us for an appointment if you’re hearing a persistent buzzing or ringing in your ears. We will be able to evaluate your symptoms and determine how best to address them. There’s no cure for the majority of types of chronic tinnitus. Symptom management might include the following:
- Masking device: This device is similar to a hearing aid, but instead of boosting sounds, it masks them. Your device will be specially calibrated to mask your symptoms of tinnitus.
- Hearing aid: The ringing or buzzing produced by tinnitus can be drowned out by raising the volume of external sounds with hearing aids.
- Relaxation techniques: High blood pressure has sometimes been linked to an increase in the severity of tinnitus symptoms. Your tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be eased by using relaxation techniques like meditation, for instance.
- Retraining therapy: In some situations, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, slowly modifying the way you process sound.
- White noise devices: In some cases, you can tune out some of your tinnitus symptoms by using a white noise generator around your house.
Tinnitus is not curable. That’s why controlling your environment to safeguard your hearing is a great first step.
But tinnitus can be managed and treated. Depending on your lifestyle, your hearing, and your tinnitus, we’ll be able to formulate a specific treatment plan for you. For some people, managing your tinnitus may simply mean using a white noise machine. For other people, management may be more intense.
Make an appointment to learn how to manage your tinnitus symptoms.