It’s very common for people to experience tinnitus. Something like 20 million people routinely cope with persistent tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. 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 sound, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. This might be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Tinnitus is frequently associated with hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will automatically result in the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. And each one will call for a different treatment approach.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it stem from? Well, it’s essential to note that not all types of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But identifying the cause can be essential to finding the right treatment approach.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the result of a neurological issue, like a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other instances, tinnitus might be caused by age-related hearing loss. Here are a few of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Problems with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. If your baseline neurological functions are weakened by injury it can activate neurological tinnitus. This means that the standard communication between your brain and ears isn’t working properly. 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 more. In some instances, neurological tinnitus might resolve as the brain heals. It may be irreversible in other instances.
- Subjective tinnitus: When you’re the only one who can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is quite common, hearing specialists will refer to your condition as a subjective tinnitus. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is often also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present as lots of different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus isn’t really 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 type of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be abnormally loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most susceptible to movement of the head or neck areas.
Often, people will have more than one form of tinnitus at the same time. For example, you may have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. Identifying the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Finding tinnitus assistance
You most likely won’t need to take any specific action if your tinnitus symptoms are intermittent. But if your tinnitus sticks around or comes back frequently, it could have real and severe impacts on your everyday life. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to call us for a consultation.
We have a number of different tinnitus management strategies we might try depending on the underlying cause of your symptoms. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. We might also utilize masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, although it can usually be successfully managed. We will help you personalize the best treatment for your particular situation. This will help you enjoy life again by moving your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.