It’s really common for people to experience tinnitus. Something like 20 million individuals regularly suffer from chronic tinnitus so intense that it becomes burdensome. And there are also more common presentations of tinnitus which are a lot more mild and intermittent and are also easier to deal with.
When you hear sounds in your ears that don’t have an external source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. This might be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t get rid of. Although hearing loss is frequently accompanied by tinnitus, there isn’t always a cause-and-effect relationship between the two.
As a matter of fact, tinnitus comes in numerous forms. Treating these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
What is tinnitus?
Exactly what is tinnitus and how is it caused? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in a number of forms and causes. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But determining the cause can be crucial to finding the correct treatment strategy.
For some individuals, tinnitus is the result of a neurological issue, like a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. Hearing loss related to age can be another factor that can trigger tinnitus. Here are a few of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus isn’t always caused by ear issues. In some cases, the root cause lies within the brain. Neurological tinnitus is a result of injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. This means that the normal communication between your brain and ears isn’t working correctly. The result is that you hear a phantom sound that may not be there. Neurological tinnitus can be due to concussion, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, clear up on its own. It may be irreversible in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and has no external source and only you can hear it. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. For example, neurological tinnitus can also be subjective tinnitus. There are a large number of sounds that can manifest with subjective tinnitus, including buzzing, ringing, screeching, roaring, thumping, and many others.
- Objective tinnitus: When you have objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus does occur, though it’s not as common as subjective forms. Typically, this means you’re dealing with something called pulsatile tinnitus, which happens when you’re hearing your heartbeat or circulatory system. For those with objective tinnitus, that pulsing sound typically seems louder than it ought to.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this characteristic. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This type of tinnitus becomes more intense when you move around. Typically, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these types of tinnitus aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, you may have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. In order for us to put together a treatment plan, we will first need to determine the underlying cause of your tinnitus.
Finding tinnitus support
If your tinnitus is here one minute and gone the next, you most likely don’t have to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus sticks around or comes back frequently, it may have real and severe impacts on your day-to-day life. When that happens, your best plan to get some relief is to call us for a consultation.
After we identify the root cause of your symptoms, there are a few treatment methods we can utilize. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less obvious. Other treatment solutions can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually be successfully managed. We will work with you to create treatments that work for your symptoms. This will help you enjoy life again by pushing your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily ignored.
