Tinnitus is an exceptionally common condition of the ear. It’s one of the most prevalent health conditions in the world with some estimates suggesting that up to 10 percent of the population experiences it at one time or another. Even though the most common manifestation of tinnitus is a phantom ringing or buzzing in your ear, it can also present as other sounds as well.
Sadly, the causes of tinnitus aren’t as obvious as the symptoms. In part, that’s because tinnitus could be caused by a wide range of causes, some of which are temporary and others that can be more permanent.
That’s why your environment can be very important. If the background sound of your particular setting is very loud, you may be harming your hearing. If your tinnitus is a result of damage, it could end up being permanent.
Why do so many people experience tinnitus?
When you hear sounds that aren’t actually present, that’s tinnitus. For most people, tinnitus manifests as a buzzing or ringing, but it may also present as thumping, humming, screeching, or other sounds as well. Normally, the sounds are steady or rhythmic. Tinnitus will usually clear itself up after a short time period. Though not as common, chronic tinnitus is effectively permanent.
Tinnitus is so common for a couple of reasons. Firstly, environmental factors that can contribute to tinnitus are quite common. Underlying conditions and injuries can bring about tinnitus symptoms and that accounts for the second reason. And there are a wide variety of conditions and injuries that can result in tinnitus. Consequently, tinnitus tends to be very common.
How is tinnitus affected by environmental factors?
Other things can also cause tinnitus, including ototoxic medications and chemicals. However, when most people discuss “environment” when it comes to tinnitus, they really mean the noise. Some locations, such as noisy city streets, can get really loud. Likewise, anyone who works around industrial equipment all day would be at risk of their environment worsening their tinnitus.
These environmental factors can be incredibly important when considering your hearing health.
Noise induced damage, as with hearing loss, can activate tinnitus symptoms. In these situations, the resulting tinnitus tends to be chronic in nature. Some of the most prevalent noise and environment-related causes of tinnitus include the following:
- Events: If noise is loud enough, even over short stretches, tinnitus can sometimes be the outcome. Shooting a gun or going to a rock concert are instances of this type of noise.
- Music: Many people will frequently listen to their music at high volumes. Doing this on a regular basis can frequently cause tinnitus symptoms.
- Traffic: Traffic in densely populated places can be much louder than you might expect it to be. And noise damage can occur at a lower volume than you may expect. Long commutes or regular driving in these loud settings can eventually lead to hearing damage, including tinnitus.
- Noise in the workplace: Lots of workplaces, including offices, are frequently the source of loud noises. Tinnitus can eventually result from being in these settings for eight hours a day, whether it’s industrial equipment or the din of a lot of people talking in an office.
People frequently wrongly think damage to their ears will only occur at extreme volume levels. For this reason, hearing protection should be used at lower volumes than you may expect. Hearing protection can help prevent tinnitus symptoms from developing in the first place.
What should I do if I’m experiencing tinnitus?
So, does tinnitus go away? Well, in some cases it may. But your symptoms might be irreversible in some instances. At first, it’s basically impossible to know which is which. If you have tinnitus because of noise damage, even if your tinnitus does go away, your chance of having your tinnitus come back and become chronic is a lot more probable.
One of the most significant contributing factors to the advancement of tinnitus is that individuals tend to underestimate the volume at which damage happens to their ears. Damage has most likely already happened if you’re experiencing tinnitus. This means that there are a number of things that you should do to change your environment so as to prevent more permanent damage.
For example, you could try:
- Decreasing the volume of your environment where possible. For example, you could shut the windows if you live in a noisy area or turn off industrial machinery that isn’t in use.
- Using hearing protection (either earplugs or earmuffs) in order to counter damage. You can also get some degree of protection from noise canceling headphones.
- Limiting the amount of time you spend in noisy environments without giving your ears a chance to recuperate.
How to manage your symptoms
Lots of people who experience chronic tinnitus find the symptoms to be tremendously distracting and uncomfortable. This prompts them to try and find a way to ease the severity of their symptoms.
You should give us a call for an appointment if you are hearing a persistent buzzing or ringing in your ears. We will be able to assess your symptoms and figure out how best to address them. For most cases of chronic tinnitus, there’s no cure. Symptom management may include the following:
- Relaxation techniques: High blood pressure has sometimes been associated with an increase in the severity of tinnitus symptoms. Your tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be alleviated by utilizing relaxation techniques like meditation, for example.
- Retraining therapy: You can sometimes retrain your ears with the help of a specialist, which will progressively retrain the way you process sound.
- Masking device: This device is similar to a hearing aid, but instead of amplifying sounds, it masks them. The exact calibration of your device will depend on your particular symptoms.
- Hearing aid: The ringing or buzzing produced by tinnitus can be drowned out by amplifying the volume of external sounds with hearing aids.
- White noise devices: Utilizing a white noise device around your house can help you tune out your tinnitus in some cases.
Tinnitus is not curable. A great first step would be to protect your hearing by controlling your environment.
But tinnitus can be managed and treated. We’ll be able to establish a specific treatment plan according to your hearing, your tinnitus, and your lifestyle. A white noise machine, for many individuals, may be all that’s necessary. For other people, management might be more demanding.
Set up an appointment to find out how to address your tinnitus symptoms.
