Tinnitus made easy… sort of
Tinnitus is essentially a ringing or buzzing noise that you hear when there is no actual external source of the sound. Most people experience tinnitus… if you sit in a quiet room and concentrate, most people can hear some sort of noise. For the majority it is not debilitating, we may notice it but it doesn’t bother us. On the other hand, tinnitus can be quite the annoyance and downright life altering in some extreme cases. Approximately 50 million Americans experience tinnitus.
Tinnitus is a phantom noise which in most cases does not actually exist (while some cases exist where another person can hear the noise.) Many things can cause tinnitus including prolonged exposure to loud sounds, some medicines, other physical conditions, the list goes on. Hearing loss and tinnitus are often present together however tinnitus does not cause hearing loss nor does hearing loss cause tinnitus.
So you have tinnitus and it bothers you enough to keep reading… what do you do?
As stated, tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss. Wearing a properly fit set of hearing aids can often help reduce a person’s perception of the tinnitus.
Various tinnitus retraining therapies exists to help an individual deal with the constant noise. They could include sound generators, masking, sound stimulation, etc…
While there is no “cure” and it has not been proven that any natural remedy or pill, there are ways to lessen the affects of tinnitus on your everyday life through some of the known methods which have helped many, many people. Hearing healthcare professionals have the ability to provide tinnitus treatment services however just like being successful with hearing aids, who you see really makes a difference!