Tinnitus is an incredibly common medical condition. Tinnitus can become so overwhelming that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million individuals around the world. This doesn’t even count the more common types of tinnitus, which for most people can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
When you hear noises in your ears that don’t have an outside source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It may manifest as a continual buzzing or ringing in the ears. Although hearing loss is often associated with tinnitus, there isn’t necessarily a cause-and-effect connection between the two.
As a matter of fact, there are a significant variety of forms of tinnitus. Managing these varieties of tinnitus will require different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
Exactly what is tinnitus and what are its causes? Well, it’s essential to mention that not all types of tinnitus are the same. The various causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But it’s still essential to determine the cause in order to effectively manage the symptoms.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. In other instances, tinnitus may result from age-related hearing loss. The following are some other potential causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear issues. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has broken down with the typical ways that your brain and ear communicate. As a result, a phantom sound is heard which isn’t actually 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 situations, clear up on its own. It might be permanent in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: When only you can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is really common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. This form of tinnitus includes many other types of tinnitus as well. For example, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present 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 an actual, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus is not really as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Typically, this means you’re dealing with something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your heartbeat or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be abnormally loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are often rather constant for many people coping with them. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This is tinnitus that gets worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to get worse when you move your head or neck.
The majority of these forms of tinnitus are not necessarily mutually exclusive. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus at the same time, for instance. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist decide the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Getting tinnitus assistance
You probably won’t need to take any specific 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 coming back. That’s when it’s particularly important to speak with a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some relief from your tinnitus.
We have several different tinnitus management strategies we may try depending on the root cause of your symptoms. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. Other treatment options can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Tinnitus can’t usually 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 disregarded.