Your ears are important to interact with the world for two major reasons: hearing and balance. They translate the sound waves you hear into signals that are translated into coherence by your brain, and they transmit signals to your vestibular nerve to your brain, which then sends signals to your muscles to control balance. The complicated system of hearing and balance uses three sections, the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear, and damage to any part of the ear can create problems.
Tinnitus is a hearing problem that affects millions of people and can be caused by several factors. Fortunately, help is available for the condition, so let’s look at what tinnitus is, its causes, and what can be done to avoid it getting worse. If you live in the Lake Oswego, Oregon, area and you’re struggling with hearing issues like tinnitus, the team of specialists at Lake Grove ENT can help.
Commonly known as the ringing you hear in your ears that no one else but you hears, tinnitus can also be characterized by hearing chirping, buzzing, whistling, hissing, or other noises that only you experience. Regardless of what you hear, this sound can be loud or quiet, continuous or intermittent, and worse when there’s not much noise around you. This is a very common issue, with around 50 million Americans dealing with the annoyance of these sounds, making it difficult for you to concentrate or even sleep when it becomes severe.
This problem is often linked to hearing loss, but this isn’t always true. It is possible to experience this with no hearing issues or even a sensitivity to sound, also known as hyperacusis.
Several conditions may have tinnitus as a symptom, but the actual cause is not easily understood. Current theories suggest abnormal brain activity where sound is processed, but even then don’t understand how or why it happens. This hearing condition can be a sign of many ailments connected to hearing loss, including hearing problems related to aging, exposure to loud noises, ototoxic medications, Ménière’s disease, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), excessive earwax, and otosclerosis.
Blockages in the ear canal and infections are also problems that can lead to tinnitus. In rare instances, this ringing in one ear can be evidence of glomus tympanicum, a tumor in your middle ear. Problems with balance, speaking, or walking with this ringing may indicate neurological issues requiring immediate medical attention.
In many cases, this condition isn’t curable, but there are several ways to manage it, including:
Blockages of earwax or other substances can be removed, changing out medications that lead to this problem can help, and damage caused by loud noises or age can be managed by hearing aids. Surgery to address blood vessel problems or other issues can also help reduce or eliminate the ringing.
White noise machines or masking devices can be used to manage chronic tinnitus. White noise can also be produced by household products like air conditioners, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and fans.
Counseling can be useful in the form of tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).TRT can help by combining masking techniques with therapy, and CBT teaches coping mechanisms to reduce the impact of ringing or other noises.
Some medications can reduce the impact of tinnitus, and since this condition can lead to anxiety or depression, medications can help that as well.
Whether you’re dealing with it occasionally or all the time, we can help treat your tinnitus. Make an appointment with the team at Lake Grove ENT today to reduce the annoyance of ringing in your ears and other ear problems you may be struggling with.
