If you experience a ringing in your ears much of the time, or even a whirring or buzzing sound, then chances are that you have tinnitus. If you are some who experiences tinnitus, then you may well find this irritating or problematic. At its worst, tinnitus can cause problems with sleep and concentration. It can make the person who is experiencing it irritable, and it can cause depression and anxiety if left untreated.

Tinnitus can be either temporary or permanent, and it is essential to get an assessment made of it to find ways of treating or managing the condition so that you can continue to live a normal life.

Tinnitus is something that around 50 million Americans experience, whereas less than half of these cases can be considered as chronic. This condition is most commonly found in the over 60s age bracket. 

What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a condition that is brought on by other medical problems. These may include ear infections or high blood pressure. In these cases, it may be possible to treat the cause of the tinnitus and remove it. Another cause may be allergies. 

There are circumstances where tinnitus will be more severe, or the treatment of the condition may be more difficult. These will include injuries to the neck or the head, sensorineural hearing loss or jaw problems. 

The symptoms will be a mild-to-severe buzz, hum or ringing in the ears. At times this may overtake all other sounds, and as such, this makes it very hard for people to pick out specific sounds and voices.

What to do if you believe you have tinnitus?

If you think that you may be experiencing tinnitus, the first thing that you should do is make an appointment with an audiologist. A thorough examination of your ears and a discussion about your general health will give the audiologist a good idea of what the cause might be.

From this assessment, it will be possible to decide the best course of action that should be taken to reduce the symptoms, improve the quality of your hearing, and potentially deal with the root cause of the tinnitus. 

How is tinnitus treated?

The way in which tinnitus is treated will depend on the root cause. 

Hearing aids can be helpful in reducing background noise and enhancing the areas of sound that you need to hear. This will help you to process sound in a much clearer way. Where hearing problems are the main cause of tinnitus, this can be a very good solution

An option that may be available to you is tinnitus retraining therapy, which will teach your brain to ignore the ringing, whirring or buzzing sounds that you may be experiencing and allow you to focus on the actual sounds that you should be hearing.

Is there a cure for tinnitus?

There is currently no known cure for tinnitus. However, the causes that lay behind your particular issues may be treatable, which will help you see a reduction in the effects of the condition. For example, changes in diet, the reduction in salt and alcohol consumption and the implementation of an exercise routine could reduce blood pressure that may be causing much of the tinnitus. Where it is caused by an infection, medication could help to reduce the symptoms. And for many of the other causes of the symptoms may be helped with specialist therapy or the use of a hearing aid. 

What about herbal tinnitus relief?

While there are many different outlets that will offer a herbal solution to the tinnitus that you may be experiencing, you do need to be aware that there have never been any scientific tests that have ever proven or backed up their claims. Taking tablets such as these may give you the hope of reducing the effects of tinnitus or regaining clarity in your hearing. However, there is no guarantee that they do anything. 

The best course of action that anyone with tinnitus can do is to make an appointment with a trained audiologist who will be able to give you a clearer understanding of what the reason behind your tinnitus is, and will be able to help you with treatment, therapy as well as providing you with ways of dealing with the hearing loss that you may be experiencing.

If you would like to learn more about how Peninsula Hearing can help with your tinnitus, get in touch by calling us at Poulsbo: 360-697-3061 or Port Townsend: 360-379-5458.