What is Tinnitus?

 Tinnitus (pronounced ti-ni-tis) is the perception of hearing sounds such as ringing, buzzing, crickets, a rushing or even a pulsatile heart beat like sound or any combination of these. The noise can be intermittent or continuous, and can vary in loudness. It is often worse when background noise is low, so you may be most aware of it at night when you’re trying to fall asleep in a quiet room. The most common form of Tinnitus is known as Subjective Tinnitus where only the person perceiving the tinnitus can hear it. It can be localised to one ear more then another or seem central within the head. In most cases Tinnitus accompanies hearing loss and the pitch that the tinnitus is perceived is usually around the frequency range that the hearing is most diminished. A rarer type of tinnitus Objective Tinnitus, can occur where a sound audible to the individual could be amplified to also be heard by others. This for example could occur as a pulsatile tinnitus where blood flow in vessels close to the skin in the ear canal is impeded and the pulsing or rushing sounds can be heard.

How Common is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is very common, affecting just about everyone at some stage of their lives. For most people, the condition is merely an annoyance. In severe cases, however, tinnitus can cause people to have difficulty concentrating and sleeping. It may eventually interfere with work and personal relationships resulting in psychological distress. About 12 million people in the United States seek medical help for tinnitus every year.

Although tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss, it does not cause the loss, nor does a hearing loss cause tinnitus. In fact, some people with tinnitus experience no difficulty hearing, and in a few cases they even become so acutely sensitive to sound (hyperacusis) that they must take steps to muffle or mask external noises.

   What Causes Tinnitus?

Prolonged exposure to loud sounds is the most common cause of tinnitus. Up to 90% of people with tinnitus have some level of noise-induced hearing loss. The noise causes permanent damage to the sound-sensitive cells of the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear. The outer hair cells of the inner ear are said to be electro motile. Carpenters, pilots, rock musicians, street-repair workers, and landscapers are among those whose jobs put them at risk, as are people who work with chain saws, guns, or other loud devices or who repeatedly listen to loud music. A single exposure to a sudden extremely loud noise can also cause tinnitus.

A variety of other conditions and illnesses can lead to tinnitus, including:

• Blockages of the ear due to a buildup of wax, an ear infection, or rarely, a benign tumor of the nerve that allows us to hear (auditory nerve)
• Certain drugs — most notably asprin, several types of antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, sedatives, and antidepressants as well as quinine medications. Tinnitus is cited as a potential side effect for about 200 prescription and nonprescription drugs.
• The natural aging process can result in a deterioration of the cochlea or other parts of the ear
• Meniere’s disease, which affects the inner part of the ear
• Otosclerosis, a disease that results in stiffening of the small bones in the middle ear
• Other medical conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, circulatory problems, anemia, allergies, an underactive thyroid gland, and diabetes
• Neck or jaw problems, such as temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome
• Injuries to the head and neck

Tinnitus can worsen in some people if they drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, drink caffeinated beverages, or eat certain foods. For reasons not yet entirely clear to researchers, stress and fatigue seem to worsen tinnitus.

Tinnitus Treatments:

Some instances of tinnitus are caused by infections or blockages in the ear, and the tinnitus can disappear once the underlying cause is treated. Frequently, however, tinnitus continues after the underlying condition is treated. In such a case, other therapies both conventional and alternative  may bring significant relief by either decreasing or covering up the unwanted sound.

The good news for Tinnitus sufferers is that gone are the days where you would be told “nothing can be done and you just have to learn to live with it.” Hearing health care professionals use a number of approaches to treating tinnitus. It is usually through a holistic multidisciplinary approach that the most effective treatments occur.

Where there is accompanying hearing loss the use of hearing aids over a period of time can help inhibit the tinnitus. The hearing aids are programmed to put back the sound stimulation around the frequency ranges that have diminished and this usually has an inhibiting effect on the Tinnitus. For many people the inhibition is immediately noticeable where as for others the reduction of tinnitus occurs over time.

Sound Therapy: The use of sound generators can help inhibit the tinnitus as well as helping the individual habituate to the tinnitus.

Many new hearing instruments now incorporate tinnitus inhibiting signals.