Tinnitus is an exceptionally prevalent medical condition. Something like 20 million people routinely cope with chronic tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. This does not even reference the more common types of tinnitus, which for most individuals can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
Tinnitus occurs when you hear a phantom sound, when you’re hearing a sound that no one else can hear. This may be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Tinnitus is frequently linked to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately result in the other.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in a number of forms. Dealing with these varieties of tinnitus will require different approaches.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? The first thing to understand is that tinnitus comes in several forms and causes. Regardless of the specific cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still crucial to identify 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 circumstances, tinnitus may be caused by age-related hearing loss. Here are a few of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus isn’t always caused by ear problems. In some cases, the root cause lies within the brain. If your baseline neurological functions are weakened by injury it can trigger neurological tinnitus. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear communicate. As a result, a phantom noise is heard which isn’t actually there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the underlying causes of tinnitus, as well as others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, clear up on its own. It may be permanent in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: When you’re the only one who can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is really common, hearing specialists will refer to your condition as a subjective tinnitus. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. For example, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. There are a large number of sounds that can manifest with subjective tinnitus, including buzzing, ringing, screeching, roaring, thumping, and many others.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is a real, verifiable sound, it’s known as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus does occur, though it’s not as common as subjective types. Typically, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which happens when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. For people with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound usually seems louder than it should.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are often rather 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 is tinnitus that gets worse with movement. Usually, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to get worse when you move your head or neck.
Frequently, people will have more than one form of tinnitus simultaneously. For example, you might 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 likely don’t have to do anything about it. But your quality of life can be significantly impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are rather constant or keep returning. That’s when it’s especially important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
We have a number of different tinnitus management methods we may try depending on the root cause of your symptoms. A few of these strategies can minimize the severity of your symptoms making them less obvious. We might also employ masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Tinnitus can’t typically be cured, but it can be successfully managed. We will help you personalize the best treatment for your specific situation. This will help you enjoy life again by pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily disregarded.