It’s very common for people to experience tinnitus. Tinnitus can become so extreme that it becomes a burden to live with for around 20 million individuals worldwide. This does not even count the more common types of tinnitus, which for most people can come and go without causing a huge impact on their quality of life.
When you hear noises in your ears that don’t have an external source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It might manifest as a persistent buzzing or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is often linked to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will automatically lead to the other.
In fact, there are a considerable variety of types of tinnitus. Dealing with 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 numerous types and causes. The assorted causes of tinnitus will manifest with similar symptoms. But it’s still essential to determine the cause in order to successfully treat the symptoms.
For some people, tinnitus is the result of a neurological issue, like a traumatic brain injury or a concussion. Hearing loss related to age can be another aspect that can cause tinnitus. The following are a few other possible causes:
- Neurological tinnitus: Problems with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. Sometimes, the underlying cause lies within the brain. Neurological tinnitus is a result of injury to or issues with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has broken down with the normal ways that your brain and ear communicate. As a result, a phantom noise is heard which isn’t really there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the underlying sources of tinnitus, as well as others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, clear up on its own. For others, it could be lasting.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and doesn’t objectively exist and no one else can hear it. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. For instance, 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 the sound you’re hearing in your ears is an actual, verifiable sound, it’s referred to as objective tinnitus. 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 example of this form of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: Tinnitus sounds are frequently rather constant for many individuals coping with them. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this attribute. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus is most susceptible to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these types of tinnitus are not generally mutually exclusive. You might have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus at the same time, for instance. Identifying the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Finding tinnitus assistance
You most likely won’t have to take any specific 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 returning. When that happens, your best plan to get some relief is to contact us for a consultation.
We have several different tinnitus management methods we might try depending on the underlying cause of your symptoms. A few of these strategies can minimize the intensity of your symptoms making them less evident. Other treatment options can mask the sound you’re hearing.
Tinnitus can’t usually be cured, but it can be effectively managed. We will work with you to create treatments that work for your symptoms. That way, you can more easily disregard the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you love.