It’s really common for people to experience tinnitus. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for about 20 million individuals worldwide. This does not even count the more common forms 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 sound, when you’re hearing a sound that nobody else can hear. This may be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Tinnitus is frequently related to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately result in the other.
In fact, there are a substantial variety of forms of tinnitus. And each one will call for a different approach to treatment.
What is tinnitus?
Exactly what is tinnitus and what are its causes? Well, it’s significant to mention that not all types of tinnitus are the same. The assorted causes of tinnitus will manifest with similar symptoms. But determining the cause can be essential to identifying the proper treatment approach.
In some cases, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. Hearing loss related to age can be another factor that can trigger tinnitus. Here are a few of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Issues with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. In some cases, the underlying cause lies within the brain. Neurological tinnitus is a result of injury to or issues with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has broken down with the normal ways that your brain and ear communicate. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be 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 instances, clear up on its own. For others, it could be lasting.
- 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. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is often also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can manifest as lots of different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and more.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus does occur, though it’s not as common as subjective types. Most commonly, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which happens when you’re hearing your heartbeat or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. But, somatic tinnitus is different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to become more intense when you move your head or neck.
Often, people will have more than one form of tinnitus at the same time. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. Determining the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist decide the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Getting help with your tinnitus
If your tinnitus is here one minute and gone the next, you most likely don’t have to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus hangs around or comes back frequently, it could have real and significant impacts on your everyday life. That’s when it’s particularly important to talk to a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
After we determine the root cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment strategies we can use. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less obvious. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Tinnitus can’t typically be cured, but it can be effectively managed. We will work with you to create treatments that work for your symptoms. That way, you can more easily ignore the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you love.
