The Different Causes Of Tinnitus And Treatment Options

Many people experience tinnitus occasionally. Tinnitus can be described as a ringing in the ear. One major reason why ringing in the ear happens is that your ears have been exposed to loud noises for long periods. There are many ways in which you can prevent or treat tinnitus to make life more comfortable. However, you should be aware that tinnitus is sometimes a symptom of a more serious hearing problem. Here is a closer look at what tinnitus entails and how you can combat symptoms.

What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a noise that comes from inside your ears. Most people describe it as a ringing in the ears, however many people say it sounds like something grinding, buzzing or even humming in their ears. Needless to say, if this happens frequently it can make life difficult and uncomfortable.

Causes of Tinnitus

Tinnitus is often caused by several different things chief of which is hearing loss. The cells in your inner ear are very delicate and they are designed to move whenever they get sound waves. As you get older the hairs inside your inner ear may become broken or bent. One of the most frequent reasons why these hairs become broken or bent is listening to loud sounds for prolonged periods.

This may happen when you go to a concert, the movies or more commonly when you use earphones at high volumes to listen to music and other programs. Tinnitus may also happen because there is too much wax in your ear. It may also happen because you have an ear infection.

Some medications can cause tinnitus when you take them consistently. Certain antidepressants, antibiotics and diuretics have also been known to cause tinnitus. Finally, people may experience tinnitus when they have had some kind of trauma that affects their inner ear. Often this only affects one ear.

Are you at risk?

As mentioned before, certain lifestyle choices can make you more prone to developing tinnitus. Listening to loud sounds can cause ringing in the ears. If you work in a noisy environment you may also be prone to getting tinnitus. It is always best to wear hearing protection while you are on the job.

Other lifestyle choices that can cause tinnitus are the use of cigarettes and alcohol.

How Tinnitus Affects Your Daily Life

Tinnitus is going to affect your daily life in several ways. Everyone is different and they may experience varying symptoms. Many people experience headaches and fatigue from tinnitus. Other people may have trouble concentrating because of the constant ringing in their ears.

It can also lead to a lack of sleep as you may not be able to get comfortable enough due to the sounds in your ears. A lack of sleep and trouble concentrating can mean you have problems on the job and in your family life. This can lead to anxiety and make you irritable.

How to Prevent Tinnitus

Since tinnitus can be responsible for so many different complications, the next question you probably have is how you can prevent it. Fortunately, most of the time tinnitus can be prevented with some simple proactive actions. For example, if you are listening to music and you get a warning about the volume being too high, simply turn down the volume of your device.

Often people get caught up in the moment especially when they are listening to music and ignore this warning. As mentioned before, if you work in a noisy environment try to get protective gear for your hearing.

Treating Tinnitus

If tinnitus is being caused by excess wax in your ears your audiologist can remove this wax from your ears for you. Sometimes ear infections may be the culprit. If this is the case then antibiotics can usually clear this up very quickly.

Tinnitus may also be treated by using sound machines as well. They emanate what is known as white noise and can help you to sleep soundly. Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) is also a popular solution for treating tinnitus. The treatment option combines counseling and sound therapy.

One of the more common ways to treat tinnitus is with you a hearing aid. A hearing aid can be equipped with a masking feature that helps override the ringing or buzzing you are hearing. The final solution that may be necessary is changing your medication since some of them do lead to tinnitus in the ear.

Get the Help You Need

Tinnitus can be very challenging to deal with if you don’t have any relief methods in place. Whether you are experiencing tinnitus intermittently or constantly, consider visiting an audiologist to have your symptoms evaluated. If you would like help with tinnitus symptoms you’re experiencing, contact the team at Quality Hearing and Audiology Center at (816) 205-7220