Tinnitus is an exceptionally common medical condition. Tinnitus can become so overwhelming that it becomes a burden to live with for about 20 million individuals worldwide. This does not even reference the more common forms of tinnitus, which for most people can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
Tinnitus happens when you hear a phantom sound, when you’re hearing a sound that nobody else can hear. This may be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Tinnitus is often linked to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will automatically lead to the other.
As a matter of fact, there are a substantial variety of types of tinnitus. And each one will require a different approach to treatment.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it stem from? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in numerous types and causes. The various causes of tinnitus will manifest with similar symptoms. But it’s still essential to identify the cause in order to effectively treat the symptoms.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. Hearing loss related to age can be another factor that can cause tinnitus. The following are some other potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus isn’t always caused by ear issues. Sometimes, the root cause lies within the brain. If your baseline neurological functions are impaired by injury it can trigger neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear communicate. 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 others. In some cases, neurological tinnitus might go away as the brain heals. It may be irreversible in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and doesn’t objectively exist and only you can hear it. This type of tinnitus comprises many other forms of tinnitus as well. Neurological tinnitus, for example, is often also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can manifest as lots of different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is a real, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus does happen, though it’s not as common as subjective types. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an illustration of this type of tinnitus. For those with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound usually seems louder than it ought to.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this attribute. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This type of tinnitus becomes more extreme when you move around. Usually, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to become more intense when you move your head or neck.
Frequently, people will have more than one form of tinnitus at the same time. For example, you might have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. In order for us to formulate a treatment plan, we will first need to identify the root cause of your tinnitus.
Getting assistance with your tinnitus
You most likely won’t have to take any particular action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But if your tinnitus sticks around or comes back frequently, it might have real and significant impacts on your day-to-day life. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to contact us for a consultation.
After we identify the underlying cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment strategies we can employ. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less noticeable. Other treatment options can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Tinnitus can’t generally be cured, but it can be successfully managed. We will work with you to create 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.
