What Is Tinnitus (Ringing In The Ears)?
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Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, represents one of the most elusive mysteries facing audiologists, ENTs and neurologists today. There are two major types of tinnitus — objective and subjective.
Objective Tinnitus
Objective tinnitus is a sound near or in the ear that other people can hear too. There are many possible causes for this including jaw misalignment, debris sitting on the eardrum, dental problems, a malfunctioning Eustachian tube and blood vessels too close to the surface of the ear canal.
Subjective Tinnitus
Subjective tinnitus is an auditory perception not directly produced from a physical or external sound. The patient is the only one who can hear subjective tinnitus, which may be described as hissing, static, roaring, crickets, humming, ringing or music. It can range from low- to high-pitch, consist of multiple tones or sound like noise. It may be constant, pulsing or come and go. It may begin suddenly or increase gradually. It can be perceived in one ear, both ears or simply "inside the head.”
Tinnitus Treatment
While there is no known cure for most forms of tinnitus, it is not true that nothing can be done about it. Because tinnitus may be a symptom of a treatable disease, it is important to try to identify and resolve a cause before deciding on the management approach. Tinnitus might also be a side effect of certain prescription medications. There are over 500 possible causes of tinnitus, so no single treatment will solve every tinnitus problem. Even with professional help from an audiologist who specializes in tinnitus, it may be necessary to try different approaches separately or in combination. A variety of management procedures are available, so you don’t need to suffer from tinnitus.
Since there are many possible causes of tinnitus, no single treatment is a universal cure. Often it is appropriate to seek help from a team of professionals including audiologists, physicians, psychologists, dietitians, dentists or chiropractors.
Tips For Tinnitus Relief
Here are a few helpful tips in regards to alleviating the effects of tinnitus.
- Avoid and protect against loud noise exposure. Any time you must raise your voice to be heard, you are in danger of damaging your hearing and making your tinnitus worse.
- Set up a low-level noise-rich environment with soft comfortable sounds such as music, fans, ocean waves, etc.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Watch for medication side effects and interactions.
- Proper nutrition and nutritional supplementation.
- Drink plenty of water – at least 8-10 glasses daily.
- No diet sodas or drinks with aspartame.
- Limit your intake of coffee, alcohol, tobacco and caffeinated beverages.
- Switch to green tea, chamomile or herbal tea.
- Reduce salt and sodium intake.
- If diabetic, control your sugar levels with diet, exercise and medications as needed.
- Reduce your stress levels.
- Take time to relax.
- Change your driving schedule to avoid peak delays.
- Get up earlier to avoid being rushed.
- Find someone you can talk with to share your burdens.
- Attend tinnitus support groups.
- Exercise at least 10 minutes, three times per week. Include strength training with cardiovascular or aerobic exercises.
- Do something you enjoy and get a partner to pull you along on days when you don't feel like exercising.
