Tinnitus: Type, Causes, Symptoms, And Cure!
Tinnitus and its types
When it comes to tinnitus, the noise that is heard by the patient decides what type of tinnitus they have. The whooshing, ringing, or buzzing sound that one can hear usually decides the tinnitus's underlying cause. Doctors divide tinnitus into several types, which are mentioned below.
Subjective
When it comes to tinnitus, the subjective type is the most common one that patients tend to suffer. In this, the patient, when subjected to loud noise or due to any other underlying reason, tend to hear ringing or buzzing sound. In this, the sound is audible only to the patient, but one can find a cure for tinnitus. This sound can continue for 6-12 months, and in some cases, it can be chronic and last for years.
Objective
The objective is the rarest type of tinnitus that a person can have and is also the one that can be treated. It is rare in that the sound heard by the patient is audible to others as well. Doctors examining the patient can also hear the sound. This sound is caused due to physical problems like blood vessel problems, muscle contraction, or mid-ear issues.
Neurological
Neurological tinnitus, as the name suggests, is caused by neurological issues. Many patients can have some underlying nerve-related problems that can lead to any sound to be heard by the patient. One of the common causes of neurological tinnitus is Meniere's disease. This disease affects the auditory nerve system in the brain.
Low frequency
This type of tinnitus is the one that affects the patients mentally, as it can be confusing to the highest level. This patient cannot pinpoint the source of the sound. The sound may feel like coming from any external source or an internal source at the same time. In this, the sound is humming, droning, or a murmuring sound.
Pulsatile
Pulsatile tinnitus is the type in which the sound comes and goes based on blood flow. The sound is very much similar to the sound of the heartbeat. Pulsatile tinnitus usually is harmless and sometimes lasts for years if not treated. Pulsatile tinnitus cause is due to awareness of the blood flow in the near-ear blood vessels.
Common symptoms
Tinnitus can happen to anyone, but it is common to have certain underlying conditions that tinnitus treatments can detect. In this, the patient tends to hear sounds that are not present externally. Therefore, this type of sound is called internal sound or non-auditory sound, which is audible to the patient only. The sound that is heard by the patient can be either continuous or can be intermittent. Also, the volume of the sound can be fluctuating over time. Sometimes the sound can be loud and high pitched, which other times, it can be low and like a humming sound. These sounds are most audible when there is no external sound, and thus the environment is silent and peaceful. The most common sound that one can hear are roaring, ringing, buzzing, humming, clicking, hissing, etc.
What causes of tinnitus?
Tinnitus, as mentioned above, is caused by several underlying health issues. One of the most proven causes of tinnitus is broken and damage inner ear hair. These hair are responsible for sending electrical signals to the auditory section of the brain. The brain then interprets them to sound. If these hairs are damaged, they can send wrong impulses causing the brain to interpret random impulses. Some other tinnitus cause are:
• Loud noise: Any loud music or sound like from machinery, music players or concerts can cause tinnitus.
• Age: With age, many people tend to lose their hearing power and, that can cause tinnitus as well as hearing loss symptoms.
• Ear bone changes: If the mid-ear bone gets stiff or gets abnormal growths, it can tamper with normal hearing and cause tinnitus.
• Earwax blockades: Too much accumulation of ear wax near the eardrum can cause loss of hearing and tinnitus.
• Meniere's disease: This is an inner ear disease in which abnormal inner ear gets fluid pressure. Tinnitus is one of the symptoms.
• Acoustic neuroma: If a benign tumor is formed in the cranial nerve that runs from the inner ear to the brain, and is a tinnitus cause among many.
• Tumors: If any tumor is there in the neck or head area, causing a certain amount of pressure on the blood vessels, tinnitus is common.
• High blood pressure: Those who have high blood pressure due to smoking, alcohol consumption, or high tress tend to have prominent tinnitus issues.
• Cancer medications: Those who are on cancer medications like cisplatin and methotrexate tend to face tinnitus issues.
• Antibiotics: There are some common antibiotics, like neomycin, vancomycin, erythromycin, etc. which too can cause tinnitus.
Diagnosis of tinnitus
Over time, medical experts have come to find various ways to detect and understand the disease better when it comes to tinnitus. Proper diagnosis has helped doctors understand the problem and also categorize them for better tinnitus treatments. Some of the very common ways in which the doctors diagnose tinnitus are:
• Audiometry: Audiometry is when the doctors gauge the intensity of the hearing loss in patients to understand tinnitus symptoms better.
• Visual analog scale: In this diagnostic test, the patients rate the sound intensity from 1-10 to get an idea of tinnitus intensity.
• Tinnitus matching: Doctors play various frequency sounds and, the patient chooses the closest frequency of the sound they often hear to get tinnitus treatments.
• Movement test: In this test, the doctor tends to ask their patients to move their limbs, clench their jaws, or move their eyes to find the underlying cause of tinnitus.
• Imaging test: In some severe cases, doctors may ask for an MRI or CT scan to better understand the problem.
Cure for tinnitus
When it comes to tinnitus, many things can mask the issue or reduce the problem to an extent. However, it is observed that in many cases, completely removing the problem can be difficult, especially if the doctors cannot find the root cause. Some of the effective cure for tinnitus is discussed below.
Sound masking devices
These are very similar to hearing aids. They are also worn on the ear throughout the day. These devices are designed to continuously produce low-frequency white noise to drown the internal sound heard by the patient.
Cochlear implants
These implants are highly effective for those patients who have deafness and tinnitus. These devices send electrical signals from the ear to the brain to hear sounds. If one has tinnitus and deafness, then it can give complete relief to the patient.
Behavioral therapy
This therapy is a cure for tinnitus that targets the stress and depression that come from this condition. Cognitive-behavioral therapy will help the patients to accept the sounds they hear and not get stressed from it. It helps in accepting the problem and live a happy life with it.
Medications
Only in the severe cases of tinnitus, doctors tend to prescribe medications to the patient. Medications include tricyclic antidepressants and alprazolam. These help in reducing the symptoms but can also have side effects.
Tinnitus retraining therapy
In this method, the mind is trained to accept tinnitus sounds that the patient hears. The subconscious mind accepts the sounds so as not to disturb the conscious mind. In this cure for tinnitus, training devices are used, and counseling sessions are kept with them.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is when the patient gets relaxed and does not let the internal sound affect their state of mind. Biofeedback helps the patients to control and alleviate their stress levels due to tinnitus. Many patients find this process highly effective.
Preventing tinnitus: things to keep in mind
Many things can cause tinnitus. Somethings one can have their control and somethings one may not have their control on. It is better to keep in mind certain things to prevent tinnitus before getting a cure for tinnitus.
• Keep the ear cleaned up, and also avoid building up of ear wax.
• Get the ear infections treated in time to avoid any chances of tinnitus.
• Keep a check on cardiovascular health to avoid tinnitus.
• Do not listen to music on loud volume levels and also guard the years at loud places.
• One should quit and avoid smoking as it is one of the reasons behind tinnitus.
Tinnitus is common, but it does not happen without a trigger. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the triggers and causes, to get a cure for tinnitus. One should visit the doctor immediately and get a diagnosis to avoid further deterioration of the condition.
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