Tinnitus Management
Comprehensive tinnitus management using education, sound therapy, counseling, and advanced technologies like Lenire and Oto.
Types of Tinnitus
Subjective Tinnitus
The most common form of tinnitus, where only you can hear the sound. This type is often related to hearing loss, noise exposure, or changes in the auditory system and responds well to management strategies like sound therapy, hearing aids, and digital therapeutics.
Pulsatile Tinnitus
A rhythmic sound that often matches your heartbeat or pulse. This type may be related to blood flow changes or vascular conditions and requires thorough evaluation to identify any underlying medical causes that may need additional treatment.
Somatic Tinnitus
Tinnitus that can be influenced by movements of your head, neck, or jaw, or by touching certain areas near your ear. This type may be related to musculoskeletal issues and often benefits from a team-based approach combining audiology and other healthcare providers.
If I’m Coping With Tinnitus, What Should I Do?
If you hear a persistent ringing, swooshing, or clicking in your ears, it’s called tinnitus. You might be hearing it slightly in the background or it may be so loud that it’s having an impact on your daily life.
Tinnitus is experienced by millions of individuals. As we get older and our hearing starts to decline, we often also experience tinnitus. Other causes of tinnitus can include exposure to loud noise, reactions to certain medications ,allergies, heart conditions, or growths on the hearing nerve.
Call or text us for a consultation if you’re experiencing tinnitus symptoms. After reviewing your medical history, we’ll perform a complete hearing screening. We’ll go over treatment options after determining the most likely cause of your tinnitus.
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Hearing Aids: Tinnitus can be masked and hearing can be enhanced by the use of hearing aids. They can provide partial or even complete relief for most people who suffer from tinnitus.
Maskers: Low-level white noise is generated by these little hearing aid-like devices that cover up or mask tinnitus symptoms. Tinnitus sounds come in many frequency ranges and these devices can often be custom-programmed to deal with whatever frequency is being experienced.
Earwax Removal: It will probably come as a surprise that a buildup of earwax (cerumen) against the eardrum is often the cause of tinnitus. We can restore your healthy hearing by safely removing impacted earwax.
Alternative Treatments: Alternative therapies including homeopathy, acupuncture, and herbal remedies like ginkgo biloba, have been shown to be effective for some people.
Types Of Tinnitus Treatment
We can identify the right treatment options for you by reviewing your medical history and doing a complete audiometric test. If we determine that your tinnitus is a result of a medical issue rather than hearing loss, we will refer you to a physician for diagnosis and treatment.
Tinnitus and Hearing Loss
Tinnitus and hearing loss are highly comorbid conditions, with approximately 90% of people with tinnitus also having some form of hearing loss.
Exacerbated Symptoms: The combination of tinnitus and hearing loss can be more debilitating than either condition alone.
Emotional and Mental Health: The constant perception of sound and the difficulty hearing can significantly affect mental health, contributing to anxiety, depression, and sleep problems.
Functional Impairment: Tinnitus and hearing loss can impair concentration, memory, speech understanding, and sound localization.
Hearing Aids
Tinnitus can be reduced and hearing can be enhanced using hearing aids. They can provide partial or even complete relief for most people who suffer from tinnitus. Ears4U is able to program or reprogram existing hearing aids using Real-Ear Measurements to better help tinnitus patients. It is considered the gold standard for hearing aid fittings. Without them, it is difficult to ensure that the hearing aids are truly optimized for the individual’s hearing needs.
Benefits of Real Ear Measurements (REMs)
Individualized Fit: Each person’s ear canal is different in size and shape, which affects how sound travels to the eardrum. REMs account for these individual differences, ensuring the hearing aid is tailored to the specific acoustic properties of the wearer’s ear.
Optimized Performance: By verifying the hearing aid’s output in the ear canal, REMs help ensure that the device is delivering the prescribed amount of amplification at various frequencies. This leads to better speech understanding, especially in background noise.
Avoids Over- or Under-Amplification: REMs help prevent situations where hearing aids are either too loud, causing discomfort, or too soft, making it difficult to hear.
Objective Verification: REMs provide an objective way to verify that the hearing aid is working as intended, rather than relying solely on subjective reports from the user.
At Ears4U, we have providers who are dedicated to helping patients with bothersome tinnitus. It is not uncommon for a patient to have visited several healthcare providers looking for tinnitus relief or have tried previous methods to “just ignore it.” During the initial tinnitus evaluation, our providers spend time to educate and counsel on the current understandings of tinnitus pathophysiology and develop a clear management plan to facilitate habituation.
What is Habituation?
- Uses neuroplasticity: Changes the brain pathways, which reduces tinnitus perception over time.
- Reduces Distress: The brain stops perceiving tinnitus as a threat. This lowers the distress caused by the tinnitus
- Unconscious Process: The brain filters out tinnitus without ongoing conscious effort
- Lasting Relief: Long-term reduction in awareness, no daily effort needed
“Just Ignore It”
- No Neural Adaptation: Doesn’t alter brain pathways, so tinnitus perception remains unchanged
- High Emotional Impact: Distress continues, especially during quiet or stressful moments.
- Relies on Willpower: Constant ongoing attention needed, leading to mental fatigue.
- Temporary & Fragile: Short-term relief that can fail under stress or fatigue
Tinnitus treatment works! Let us help you get your tinnitus under control. Contact us today for a consultation.
