Tinnitus is an exceptionally common medical condition. Around 20 million people routinely cope with persistent tinnitus so severe that it becomes burdensome. This doesn’t even count the more common forms of tinnitus, which for most individuals can come and go without causing a major impact on their quality of life.
Tinnitus occurs when you hear a phantom sound, when you’re hearing a sound that nobody else can hear. It could manifest as a continual buzzing or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is often linked to hearing loss, but that doesn’t mean that one condition will immediately result in the other.
As a matter of fact, there are a considerable variety of types of tinnitus. Dealing with these varieties of tinnitus will require different approaches.
What is tinnitus?
So, what is tinnitus and where does it come from? The first thing to recognize is that tinnitus comes in numerous types and causes. Regardless of the particular cause, the symptoms will be similar. But it’s still crucial to identify the cause in order to effectively treat the symptoms.
In some cases, concussions or other traumatic brain injuries or neurological issues can be the cause. Hearing loss related to age can be another factor that can trigger tinnitus. Here are a few of the most common types of tinnitus:
- Neurological tinnitus: Tinnitus is not always caused by ear issues. The brain itself can sometimes be the source. If your baseline neurological functions are damaged by injury it can activate neurological tinnitus. This means that the typical communication between your brain and ears isn’t functioning correctly. As a result, a phantom noise is heard which isn’t actually there. A stroke, concussion, or brain injury can all be the root causes of tinnitus, as well as others. As the brain heals, neurological tinnitus will, in some situations, go away on its own. For others, it could be permanent.
- Subjective tinnitus: With subjective tinnitus, the sound you’re hearing is phantom and has no external source and only you can hear it. Lots of other types of tinnitus also fall into this category. Neurological tinnitus, for example, is often also subjective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can present as lots of different sound types, including ringing, buzzing, squeals, whistles, roars, and more.
- Objective tinnitus: With objective tinnitus, you’re hearing a real, verifiable, objective sound. Objective tinnitus is not really as common as subjective tinnitus, but it still occurs. Most commonly, this means you’re experiencing something called pulsatile tinnitus, which occurs when you’re hearing your pulse or circulatory system. Objective tinnitus causes those sounds to be abnormally loud.
- Somatic tinnitus: For many individuals, the sound they hear with tinnitus is fairly constant. Both objective and subjective tinnitus have this attribute. However, somatic tinnitus is different. This type of tinnitus becomes more extreme when you move around. Typically, somatic tinnitus will cause the symptoms to get worse when you move your head or neck.
Most of these forms of tinnitus are not generally mutually exclusive. You may have subjective tinnitus and neurological tinnitus at the same time, for instance. In order for us to formulate a treatment plan, we will first need to determine the underlying cause of your tinnitus.
Getting help with your tinnitus
You most likely won’t need to take any specific action if your tinnitus symptoms are sporadic. But your quality of life can be significantly impacted if your tinnitus symptoms are fairly constant or keep returning. That’s when it’s especially important to speak with a hearing specialist to get specialized care and find some relief from your tinnitus.
After we determine the root cause of your symptoms, there are a few treatment methods we can employ. A few of these techniques can minimize the intensity of your symptoms making them less evident. We may also utilize masking techniques to hide your symptoms.
Generally, there is no cure for tinnitus, although it can usually be effectively treated. We will help you customize the best treatment for your specific situation. This will help you enjoy life again by moving your symptoms into the background where they can be more easily disregarded.