Tinnitus – Treatments

However, it can be extremely frustrating and when it’s at its most severe, it can have a devastating impact on people’s lives. Tinnitus can make it hard for people to converse with others and affect their ability to sleep, concentrate, and even their memory.

Is there a treatment for tinnitus? The good news is that several tinnitus treatments are available that can help to minimise and in some cases eliminate the sounds of tinnitus and give people the chance to live an almost tinnitus-free life.

So, what is tinnitus and what does it sound like?

Tinnitus is when you hear noises in either your head or one or both of your ears that has no external source. The sounds are entirely internal and no one else can hear them. If you have tinnitus then you may hear what sounds like a whistling, ringing, buzzing or hissing or some other noise.

Some people may experience tinnitus as a pulsating sensation. The sounds vary from person to person as does its volume and intensity and can come and go or you may hear them constantly. While tinnitus can be extremely frustrating and even distressing to experience, it is not an illness or a condition in itself. Tinnitus is generated in the auditory system and is a symptom of some other underlying condition.

Before you can find the most effective tinnitus treatment for you, you need to establish what is causing your tinnitus. It could be something that is relatively easy to treat or may require a longer-term management plan. The underlying cause of your tinnitus will influence how to treat tinnitus in your specific case. Some causes of tinnitus include:

• Hearing loss
• Exposure to loud noise
• Stress and anxiety
• Ear wax build-up
• Ménière's disease
• Perforated eardrum
• Head, neck or ear injury
• Reactions to certain medicines

It’s common for people to develop tinnitus as a result of hearing loss. When you lose some of your hearing, your brain changes the way it processes sound frequencies. Hearing aids for tinnitus will amplify external sounds to improve your hearing while also masking the tinnitus sounds so your brain can just focus on the external noises and not your tinnitus.

Tinnitus can have an enormous impact on a person’s life and the symptoms can be made significantly worse by stress and anxiety. Being able to relax properly by working on your breathing is one of the best tinnitus treatments. Some people find yoga, meditation, and tai chi particularly helpful.

Tinnitus can be extremely frustrating to live with but while there is no cure, there are ways you can manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life. Schedule a consultation with your hearing care professional to help you find the best treatment option and an effective coping strategy for you.