Tinnitus is an exceptionally common medical condition. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million individuals around the world. And there are also more prevalent presentations of tinnitus which are a lot more mild and sporadic and are also easier to cope with.
Tinnitus happens when you hear a phantom noise, when you’re hearing a sound that nobody else can hear. This might be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Although hearing loss is often associated with tinnitus, there isn’t necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship between the two.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. Dealing with these varieties of tinnitus will require different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? Well, it’s significant to note that not all kinds of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But identifying the cause can be crucial to finding the right treatment approach.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. In other circumstances, tinnitus might be caused by age-related hearing loss. Here are some of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Issues with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. This means that the typical communication between your brain and ears isn’t working properly. As a result, a phantom sound is heard which isn’t really there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the root causes of tinnitus, as well as others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some cases, clear up on its own. It may be permanent in other instances.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and has no external source and only you can hear it. Lots of other forms of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for example, 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 lots of others.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus does occur, though it’s not as common as subjective forms. Typically, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which happens when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. For those with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound usually seems louder than it should.
- 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 severe when you move around. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most susceptible to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these forms of tinnitus aren’t generally mutually exclusive. For instance, you may 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 help with your tinnitus
If your tinnitus is here one minute and gone the next, you most likely don’t have to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus hangs around or returns frequently, it might have real and significant impacts on your everyday life. That’s when it’s particularly important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
After we identify the root cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment strategies we can use. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less noticeable. Other treatment solutions 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 pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.