Tinnitus is an incredibly prevalent medical condition. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million individuals around the world. And there are also more prevalent presentations of tinnitus which are much more mild and intermittent and are also easier to cope with.
When you hear noises in your ears that don’t have an outside source and nobody else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. 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, there are a substantial variety of types of tinnitus. 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 recognize is that tinnitus comes in numerous types and causes. The assorted causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But determining the cause can be essential to identifying the best treatment approach.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the outcome of a neurological problem, like a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. In other instances, tinnitus might be caused by age-related hearing loss. Here are a few of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear issues. The brain itself can sometimes be the cause. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear interact. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that might not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be a result of concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and others. In some instances, neurological tinnitus may go away as the brain heals. For others, it may be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: When only you can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is very common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. This form of tinnitus comprises many other types of tinnitus as well. 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: When you have objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus does happen, though it’s not as common as subjective types. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an illustration of this form of tinnitus. For individuals with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound usually seems louder than it should.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are often quite constant for many individuals coping with them. That’s true for both subjective and objective tinnitus. But, somatic tinnitus is different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most susceptible to movement of the head or neck areas.
Frequently, people will have more than one form of tinnitus simultaneously. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Finding tinnitus support
You probably won’t have to take any particular action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But your quality of life can be seriously impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are rather constant or keep coming back. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to contact us for a consultation.
After we identify the underlying cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment methods we can employ. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. We may also employ masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Tinnitus can’t generally be cured, but it can be effectively managed. We will help you personalize the best treatment for your specific situation. That way, you can more easily ignore the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you love.