Tinnitus is an exceptionally prevalent medical condition. Something like 20 million individuals routinely suffer from persistent tinnitus so intense that it becomes burdensome. This doesn’t even count the more common forms 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 outside source and nobody else can hear them, that’s tinnitus. It could manifest as a continual buzzing or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately result in the other.
In fact, there are a considerable variety of forms of tinnitus. Treating these varieties of tinnitus will call for different approaches.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it stem from? Well, it’s essential to mention that not all types of tinnitus are the same. The various causes of tinnitus will present with similar symptoms. But it’s still essential to identify the cause in order to effectively manage the symptoms.
In some instances, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological problems can be the cause. Hearing loss related to age can be another factor that can trigger tinnitus. Here are some of the most prevalent types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Problems with the ear are not always the cause of tinnitus. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. Neurological tinnitus is caused by injury to or problems with your baseline neurological functions. In other words, something has gone wrong with the normal ways that your brain and ear interact. The outcome is that you hear a phantom sound that might not be 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, go away on its own. For others, it may be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and doesn’t objectively exist and no one else can hear it. This type of tinnitus comprises many other forms of tinnitus also. Neurological tinnitus, for instance, is often also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present as many different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and others.
- Objective tinnitus: When the sound you’re hearing in your ears is a real, verifiable sound, it’s referred to as objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus does happen, though it’s not as common as subjective forms. Most commonly, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which happens when you’re hearing your heartbeat or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be unusually loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many people, the sound they hear with tinnitus is relatively constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this characteristic. With somatic tinnitus though, things are a bit different. This is tinnitus that grows worse with movement. Typically, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to become more intense when you move your head or neck.
The majority of these types of tinnitus aren’t generally mutually exclusive. You may have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus together, for instance. Figuring out the cause of your symptoms can help your hearing specialist decide the best tinnitus treatment strategy for your symptoms.
Getting help with your tinnitus
You probably won’t need to take any particular action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But if your tinnitus hangs around or comes back frequently, it might have real and severe impacts on your day-to-day life. That’s when it’s particularly important to speak with a hearing specialist to receive specialized care and find some tinnitus relief.
We have a number of different tinnitus management strategies we may try depending on the root cause of your symptoms. Several treatments can make the sounds you’re hearing less evident. Other treatment options 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. That way, you can more easily disregard the buzzing or ringing in your ears, and get back to the life you love.