Five things you should know about tinnitus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 50 million Americans experience tinnitus. That’s over 15 percent of the U.S. population, or nearly one in every six of us.

So what is this condition that affects so many people — and what can tinnitus sufferers do about it? We cover the basics here.

1. What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is the medical term for the sensation of hearing sound in your ears when no external sound is present. In most cases, tinnitus is a subjective sound, meaning only the person who has it can hear it. Typically, sufferers describe the sound as “ringing in ears,” though others describe it as hissing, buzzing, whistling, roaring and even chirping.

Just as the sound may be different for each person, the effects of tinnitus are different for every individual, too. For some, it is sporadic and “not that bad.” For others, tinnitus never stops and can make daily life awful.

But one thing everyone with tinnitus has in common is a desire for relief. For most, this desire is so great they will try anything to make their tinnitus less annoying, including resorting to acupuncture, eardrops, herbal remedies, hypnosis and more.

2. What causes tinnitus?

Scientists and health experts have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of tinnitus. But several sources are known to trigger or worsen ringing in the ears, including:

• Loud noises and hearing loss — Exposure to loud noises can destroy the non-regenerative cilia (tiny hairs) in the cochlea, causing permanent tinnitus and/or hearing loss. Noise-induced tinnitus is often the result of exposure to loud environmental noises, such as working in a factory setting, with or around heavy machinery, or even a single event like a gunshot or loud concert.

• Aging — Natural aging, too, gradually destroys the cilia, and is a leading cause of hearing loss. Tinnitus is a common symptom of age-related hearing loss.

• Ototoxic medications – Some prescription medications such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, diuretics and others can be ototoxic, meaning they are harmful to the inner ear as well as the nerve fibers connecting the cochlea to the brain.

• Hearing conditions – Conditions such as Ménière’s disease are known to cause tinnitus.

• Health conditions – Tinnitus has been associated with a number of health conditions, including:

• Cardiovascular disease

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)

• Thyroid problems

• Fibromyalgia and chronic pain

• Head or neck trauma

• Jaw misalignment

• Auditory, vestibular or facial nerve tumors

• Stress and fatigue

3. Is there a cure for tinnitus?

Currently, there is no known cure for tinnitus. However, according to the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), there are a few established therapies and tinnitus treatment options. Because there is no cure, the ATA notes, “the primary objective for all currently available tinnitus treatment options is to lower the perceived burden of tinnitus.”

Hearing aids are one tinnitus treatment option the ATA lists, with hearing professionals reporting that 60 percent of their tinnitus patients experience relief when wearing them.

Sound therapy is another treatment option listed by the ATA, which notes that hearing aids are an effective component to most sound therapy protocols.

Sound therapy — and hearing aids — work by masking the tinnitus sound and reducing the perception and intensity of any “ringing in the ears.” This helps take your mind off of your tinnitus, which helps lower its burden.

4. What should you do if you or someone you know has tinnitus?

Since the exact cause of tinnitus is not known, the ATA recommends you visit your primary care provider and a hearing healthcare professional for evaluation. This evaluation helps them determine if tinnitus is present and what may be causing it. Specialized tests are performed to evaluate the auditory system. Some of these tests measure the specific features of the tinnitus itself, and could include:

• Audiogram

• Evoked response audiometry

• Tinnitus pitch match

• Tinnitus loudness match

5. How can you get tinnitus relief?

While there is no cure for tinnitus, Audibel’s’s hearing aids with proprietary Multiflex Tinnitus Technology have been clinically proven to provide relief for ringing in the ears.

Call Land of Lincoln today to make an appointment!

Multiflex Tinnitus Technology enhances the masking capabilities of Audibel hearing aids even more by creating a customizable and comforting sound stimulus that you and your hearing professional can fine-tune. This sound stimulus soothes the unique, irritating sounds you hear — so you can get your mind off your tinnitus and get your life back.

Photo by Toimetaja tõlkebüroo on Unsplash

Is hearing loss avoidable?

That’s a great question, and a complicated one to answer! Hearing loss can be caused by a multitude of things: some are preventable and some are not. For me to write about everything that can cause hearing loss — and then all the ways to avoid each cause — would make for a very long blog post. We will save that for another day.

Instead, I am going to write about what you can do to avoid the second-leading cause of hearing loss — noise-induced hearing loss.

Did you know that one in four U.S. adults have noise-induced hearing loss? That’s a lot of people (at least 40 million)! The good news is that you can protect your hearing in most situations. And if you practice good hearing protection, not only do you increase your chances of avoiding noise-induced hearing loss, it will  go a long way towards helping you avoid age-related hearing loss, which is the number one cause of hearing loss.

Here are a few ways to protect your hearing (and help avoid hearing loss):

Minimize your exposure to loud noises

This is the best way to avoid hearing loss. How do you know what’s too loud? Environments where you have to raise your voice to talk to other people, where you can’t hear what people nearby are saying, where the noise hurts your ears or, really, where any noise exceeds 85 decibels are too loud.

Wear hearing protection

There are times when you are put into loud situations or environments and you simply can’t avoid them. These include certain work environments, sporting events, concerts, bars/clubs, mowing your lawn, etc. In those situations, you should use hearing protection.

Hearing protection comes in a variety of different styles including ear plugs, custom plugs, “earmuffs” and more. 

Watch the volume

With the way technology is advancing these days, almost everyone has something in their ears. Consider investing in higher quality earphones that block out background noise, to help you moderate your listening levels in noisier places. Also, the general rule of thumb to use when setting your volume is: You should be able to hear and converse with a person arm’s length away from you easily. If you cannot, then it is too loud.

Buy quieter products

You probably never think about how loud some of your household products are. Some products such as children’s toys, blenders and hair dryers. can get louder than 100 decibels! That means that it would take less than 15 minutes of use for you to damage your hearing. I justified buying a fancy new hair dryer because of how loud my old hair dryer was. 

There are other decisions or changes you can make in your life to help avoid hearing loss, including:

Don’t put anything in your ear

Your ears naturally clean themselves. By putting products in your ears, you can cause infections and or actually puncture your ear drum, which can lead to permanent hearing loss.

Don’t smoke

Research studies have shown a positive correlation between smoking and hearing loss. It’s better just to say no.

Keep a healthy diet

Other research studies show that women who maintain a healthy diet have reduced risk/rates of moderate to severe hearing loss compared to women who do not eat healthy.

Get your hearing tested

Having your hearing tested regularly is a great way to know how your auditory system is working. By getting your hearing tested regularly, you will be able to monitor your hearing easily, know if any changes are occurring, and treat any hearing loss early, before it gets to be a problem.

Nothing is guaranteed to prevent hearing loss. But the advice above should help you avoid it, or at least put it off for as long as possible.

Call Land of Lincoln Hearing, today! We are hear to help :)

Photo by Bahram Bayat on Unsplash