Understanding Tinnitus | Advanced ENT & Allergy

What is Tinnitus?

When you experience an unexplained sound/noise in your head or ears that only you can hear, it is called (subjective) Tinnitus. Tinnitus is a common problem and can be described in many ways: a high pitched tone, hissing, buzzing, roaring, sizzling, clicking or pulsing. In fact, no one person’s tinnitus is the same as someone else’s. It can vary in loudness, pitch, and quality. You may even hear several different sounds or noises at the same time. Tinnitus can be chronic or short-term.

In rare cases, tinnitus can occur as a rhythmic pulsing or whooshing sound, often in time with your heartbeat. This is called pulsatile tinnitus. If you have pulsatile tinnitus, your doctor most likely use a stethoscope to listen to the blood flow through your carotid arteries in your neck.

There are many different theories about the origins of Tinnitus but it is thought to be a disruption somewhere along the auditory pathway from initially hearing sound in the ear to the interpretation of the sound in the brain.

Common Causes of Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease, and it is most often associated with hearing loss. It is usually related to an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss and noise exposure, but it can also be reported in cases of:

TMJ
Head and neck injury
Ear disease such as Meniere’s or Otosclerosis
Middle Ear Infections or build-up of excessive ear cerumen (wax)
Medications
High blood pressure and other chronic medical conditions

Tinnitus can manifest as an acute symptom that lasts just a few days or a chronic or recurring symptom lasting weeks, months or years.

Emotional and Psychological Factors

Tinnitus affects everyone differently and some people aren’t very bothered by it. For other people, tinnitus disrupts their daily lives.

Tinnitus can negatively impact quality of life issues such as:

Managing stress
Difficulty falling or staying asleep
Decreased concentration ability
Emotional health and depression
Increased anxiety and irritability
Headaches
Relationships with friends, family and co-workers

Treating these linked conditions may not affect tinnitus directly, but it can help you feel better.

When to Seek Help

If you experience new or chronic tinnitus that concerns you, schedule an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and an Audiologist. Seek immediate treatment if:

Tinnitus develops after a recent illness or accident
You have sudden hearing loss
You experience lightheadedness or dizziness
You are experiencing severe anxiety or depression due to your tinnitus

Our team of audiologists is equipped with many tools and strategies to help.

Tinnitus Management

Although there is no universal cure for tinnitus, it can successfully be managed with different strategies.

Sound Therapy

Sound therapy is the use of a variety of different sounds with the intent to alter your tinnitus perception and to decrease the emotional reaction to it. Sound therapy options may include audio files, cellphone apps, sleep noise generators, tinnitus-specific earbuds and more. These sound therapy methods help to habituate a tinnitus sufferer to their symptoms by reducing the contrast between the tonal sounds they hear and their environment. This allows the brain to blend and mask tinnitus sounds so it is less noticeable and bothersome.

Hearing Aids

A standard treatment option involves hearing aids, as nearly 90% of those with tinnitus also experience hearing loss. Hearing aids often decrease the loudness of tinnitus or can mask tinnitus in its entirety while you wear them. In helping you distinguish one sound from another and providing the brain with more complete sound information, you will experience improved communication, focus and concentration. The brain can ignore the tinnitus as it becomes less important when compared to the things you want to hear and enjoy. Many hearing aids also come packaged with sound therapy listening options if amplification alone does not reduce tinnitus.

Counseling

Counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be practical in helping you manage your tinnitus symptoms by reducing the stress, anxiety and sleeplessness that are often associated with tinnitus.

Behavioral therapy can be effective and provide a range of coping skills to help you manage tinnitus symptoms and the associated stress and depression that often accompany the condition.

Support Group

Our South Jersey Tinnitus Support Group (TSG) is comprised of people who experience tinnitus to different degrees, all with the common goal of helping people manage their emotional response to the annoying sounds they hear so that tinnitus becomes less intrusive in their lives. The TSG has served this community for more than 25 years and is facilitated by two of our own audiologists. Education and current information are provided at each meeting. Members are encouraged to participate within their own comfort level, but everyone is there to support one another in a positive and non-judgmental way.

Click here for more helpful tips to help manage your tinnitus in addition to support group meeting information.

American Tinnitus Association

The American Tinnitus Association offers several resources from audiology experts on the topics of tinnitus evaluations, management and coping strategies. More information can be found at ata.org.

If your tinnitus is causing you distress, getting help is crucial. Call the ATA at 1-800-634-8978, if you need general guidance on tinnitus management and seeking care.

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