Tinnitus is an incredibly prevalent medical condition. Around 20 million individuals routinely suffer from chronic tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. And there are also more common presentations of tinnitus which are much more mild and sporadic and are also easier to deal with.
When you hear sounds in your ears that don’t have an outside source and no one else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. This could be a ringing in the ears or a buzzing sound you can’t shake. Tinnitus is often linked to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will automatically result in the other.
As a matter of fact, there are a significant variety of types of tinnitus. Treating these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
Tinnitus – exactly what is it?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? Well, it’s significant to mention that not all types of tinnitus are the same. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still crucial to determine the cause in order to effectively treat the symptoms.
In some cases, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological problems can be the cause. Hearing loss due to age can be another aspect that can trigger tinnitus. Here are a few of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Issues with the ear aren’t always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. Neurological tinnitus is a result of injury to or issues with your baseline neurological functions. This means that the standard communication between your brain and ears isn’t working correctly. As a result, a phantom sound 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 cases, clear up on its own. It may be permanent in other circumstances.
- Subjective tinnitus: When you’re the only one who can hear the sound of your tinnitus, which is quite common, hearing specialists will talk about your condition as a subjective tinnitus. This form of tinnitus includes many other types of tinnitus also. Neurological tinnitus, for example, is frequently also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present 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 is not quite as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still happens. Pulsatile tinnitus, which is when you hear your heartbeat or pulse, is an example of this type of tinnitus. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be abnormally loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this characteristic. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This type of tinnitus becomes more severe when you move around. Usually, somatic tinnitus is most sensitive to movement of the head or neck areas.
Most of these types of tinnitus aren’t generally mutually exclusive. For example, you might have neurological tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist choose the best tinnitus treatment options for your symptoms.
Getting help with your tinnitus
If your tinnitus is here one minute and gone the next, you most likely don’t need to do anything about it. But if your tinnitus hangs around or returns frequently, it may have real and severe impacts on your day-to-day life. When that occurs, your best plan to get some relief is to call us for a consultation.
After we determine the root cause of your symptoms, there are a number of treatment methods we can use. Several therapies can make the sounds you’re hearing less obvious. We might also utilize masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there’s no cure for tinnitus, though it can usually 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 enjoy.