Invisibility is a very useful power in the movies. Whether it’s a mud-covered hero, a cloaked spaceship, or a stealthy ninja, invisibility allows people in movies to be more effective and, frequently, achieve the impossible.
Invisible health conditions, unfortunately, are equally as potent and a lot less enjoyable. As an example, tinnitus is an extremely common hearing condition. But there are no outward symptoms, it doesn’t matter how well you look.
But for those who experience tinnitus, though it may be invisible, the impact may be substantial.
What is tinnitus?
One thing we recognize for certain about tinnitus is that you can’t see it. Actually, tinnitus symptoms are auditory in nature, being a disorder of the ears. You know when you are sitting in a very quiet room, or when you get back from a loud concert and you hear a ringing in your ears? That’s tinnitus. Tinnitus is so prevalent that about 25 million individuals experience it daily.
There are lots of other presentations of tinnitus besides the typical ringing. Noises including humming, whirring, crackling, clicking, and lots of others can manifest. Here’s the common denominator, anybody who has tinnitus is hearing noises that are not actually there.
In most cases, tinnitus will go away quickly. But tinnitus is a lasting and debilitating condition for between 2-5 million individuals. Here’s one way to think about it: hearing that ringing in your ears for five or ten minutes is annoying, but you can distract yourself easily and move on. But what if you can’t get rid of that sound, ever? Obviously, your quality of life would be significantly affected.
Tinnitus causes
Have you ever had a headache and tried to figure out the cause? Are you getting a cold, are you stressed, or is it allergies? The trouble is that quite a few issues can trigger headaches! The symptoms of tinnitus, though rather common, also have a wide variety of causes.
Sometimes, it may be really obvious what’s causing your tinnitus symptoms. But you might never really know in other situations. Here are some general things that can cause tinnitus:
- Meniere’s Disease: This is a disorder of the inner ear that can cause a large number of symptoms. Dizziness and tinnitus are among the first symptoms to manifest. Over time, Meniere’s disease can cause irreversible hearing loss.
- Noise damage: Tinnitus symptoms can be caused by exposure to overly loud noise over time. This is so common that loud noises are one of the primary causes of tinnitus! Wearing hearing protection if extremely loud locations can’t be avoided is the best way to counter this kind of tinnitus.
- Hearing loss: Hearing loss and tinnitus are frequently closely connected. Sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus can both be caused by noise damage and that’s a large part of the picture here. In other words, they both have the same cause. But the ringing in your ears can sound louder with hearing loss because the external world is quieter.
- Certain medications: Tinnitus symptoms can be caused by some over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Typically, that ringing subsides once you quit using the medication in question.
- Head or neck injuries: The head and neck are extremely sensitive systems. So head injuries, particularly traumatic brain injuries (including concussions)–can end up triggering tinnitus symptoms.
- Ear infections or other blockages: Just like a cold or seasonal allergies, ear infections, and other obstructions can cause swelling in the ear canal. As a result, your ears might begin to ring.
- Colds or allergies: If a lot of mucus backs up in your ears, it might cause some swelling. And tinnitus can be the outcome of this swelling.
- High blood pressure: For some people, tinnitus might be caused by high blood pressure. Getting your blood pressure under control with the help of your physician is the best way to address this.
If you’re able to figure out the cause of your tinnitus, managing it could become simpler. Cleaning out a blockage, for instance, will relieve tinnitus symptoms if that’s what is causing them. Some individuals, however, might never identify what causes their tinnitus symptoms.
Diagnosing Tinnitus
Tinnitus that only persists a few minutes isn’t something that you really need to have diagnosed. Still, having regular hearing exams is always a smart plan.
However, if your tinnitus won’t go away or continues to come back, you should schedule some time with us to find out what’s going on (or at least start treatment). We will ask you about your symptoms, talk to you about how your quality of life is being affected, do a hearing test, and probably discuss your medical history. Your symptoms can then be diagnosed using this information.
How is tinnitus treated?
There’s no cure for tinnitus. The strategy is management and treatment.
If your tinnitus is caused by a root condition, such as an ear infection or a medication you’re taking, then addressing that underlying condition will result in an improvement in your symptoms. But there will be no known root condition to manage if you’re dealing with chronic tinnitus.
So managing symptoms so they have a minimal impact on your life is the goal if you have persistent tinnitus. We can help in a variety of ways. Here are some of the most prevalent:
- A masking device: This is a device much like a hearing aid, except instead of amplifying sounds, it masks sound. These devices can be calibrated to your unique tinnitus symptoms, creating just enough sound to make that ringing or buzzing substantially less obvious.
- A hearing aid: When you have hearing loss, outside sounds become quieter and your tinnitus symptoms become more obvious. In these cases, a hearing aid can help turn the volume up on the rest of the world, and drown out the buzzing or ringing you may be hearing from your tinnitus.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: We may refer you to a different provider for cognitive behavior therapy. This is a therapeutic approach designed to help you not pay attention to the ringing in your ears.
The treatment plan that we create will be custom-designed to your specific tinnitus needs. The objective will be to help you control your symptoms so that you can get back to enjoying your life!
What should you do if you’re dealing with tinnitus?
Even though tinnitus is invisible, it shouldn’t be ignored. Odds are, those symptoms will only get worse. It’s better to get ahead of your symptoms because you might be able to prevent them from getting worse. You should at least be certain to have your ear protection handy whenever you’re going to be around loud sound.
If you have tinnitus that won’t go away (or keeps coming back) schedule an appointment with us to get a diagnosis.