It’s really common for individuals to experience tinnitus. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million individuals worldwide. This does not even reference the more common types of tinnitus, which for most people can come and go without causing a major impact on their quality of life.
Tinnitus occurs when you hear a phantom noise, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. It may manifest as a continual buzzing or ringing in the ears. Although hearing loss is often associated with tinnitus, there isn’t always a cause-and-effect connection between the two.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in numerous forms. And each one will call for a different approach to treatment.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? The first thing to understand is that tinnitus comes in numerous types and causes. Regardless of the specific cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still crucial to determine the cause in order to effectively manage the symptoms.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological problems can be the cause. Hearing loss due to age can be another factor that can cause tinnitus. Here are a few of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Issues with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. If your baseline neurological functions are impaired by injury it can activate neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has broken down with the typical ways that your brain and ear communicate. The result is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be due to concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and more. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, go away on its own. It may be permanent 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. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for example, is frequently 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: When you have objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus isn’t really as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Typically, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your heartbeat or circulatory system. For those with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound typically seems louder than it ought to.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are often quite constant for many individuals coping with them. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This type of tinnitus becomes more intense when you move around. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most susceptible to movement of the head or neck areas.
The majority of these types of tinnitus aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, you might have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Getting tinnitus support
If your tinnitus is here this minute and gone the next, you most likely don’t have to do anything about it. But your quality of life can be seriously impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are rather constant or keep returning. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to call us for a consultation.
After we determine the root cause of your symptoms, there are a few treatment methods we can utilize. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less noticeable. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually be successfully managed. We will work with you to formulate 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.