It’s very common for people to experience tinnitus. Tinnitus can become so overwhelming that it becomes a burden to live with for about 20 million individuals around the world. And there are also more common presentations of tinnitus which are a lot more mild and intermittent and are also easier to deal with.
Tinnitus happens when you hear a phantom noise, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. It could manifest as a persistent buzzing or ringing in the ears. Although hearing loss is frequently associated with tinnitus, there isn’t necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship between the two.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in numerous forms. And each one will call for a different approach to treatment.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? Well, it’s essential to note that not all types of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the specific cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still crucial to identify the cause in order to effectively treat the symptoms.
For some people, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological issue, including a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other instances, tinnitus may be caused by age-related hearing loss. Here are some of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Problems with the ear are not always the cause of tinnitus. In some cases, the root cause lies within the brain. If your baseline neurological functions are weakened by injury it can trigger neurological tinnitus. This means that the typical communication between your brain and ears isn’t functioning correctly. The result is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be a result of concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and others. In some cases, neurological tinnitus may resolve as the brain heals. It might be permanent in other instances.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and doesn’t objectively exist and no one else can hear it. This form of tinnitus comprises many other types of tinnitus also. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is often also subjective tinnitus. There are a large number of sounds that can manifest with subjective tinnitus, including buzzing, ringing, screeching, roaring, thumping, and many others.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus isn’t quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an illustration of this form of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this attribute. But, somatic tinnitus is different. This is tinnitus that gets worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to become more intense when you move your head or neck.
Most of these types of tinnitus are not generally mutually exclusive. You may have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist decide the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Getting assistance with your tinnitus
You probably won’t need to take any particular 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 returning. That’s when it’s especially important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some relief from your tinnitus.
We have several different tinnitus management methods we might try depending on the root cause of your symptoms. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. 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 create treatments that work for your symptoms. This will help you enjoy life again by pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.