Noisy insects can be a summertime nuisance. For the millions of people with tinnitus, a condition characterized by ringing, buzzing or hissing in the ears, the problem can’t be swatted away.

The Truth About Tinnitus 

Tinnitus affects more than 50 million Americans and is most common among people over 40. The condition manifests as head noise when no external noise exists. The severity of these symptoms can vary, as some simply find it annoying and others are significantly impacted. Understanding the causes of tinnitus and available treatment options can help demystify the condition and offer hope to those affected. While challenging to cure completely, tinnitus can be managed and reduced in around 80% of the cases.

What Causes Tinnitus?

While not a disease, tinnitus can result from another disease or underlying health condition. Common causes may include exposure to loud noise, age-related hearing loss, ear infections, and earwax buildup.  Certain medications, such as antibiotics, chemotherapy drugs, and high doses of aspirin, can also trigger tinnitus. Medical conditions such as Meniere’s disease, acoustic neuromas, and even cardiovascular issues can lead to tinnitus.

Tinnitus & Phantom Limb Pain

Tinnitus shares similarities with phantom limb pain, a condition that causes amputees to feel sensations, often painful, in the missing limb. Both tinnitus and phantom limb pain are believed to stem from changes in neural activity. In phantom limb pain, the brain continues to receive signals from nerves that originally served the missing limb. Similarly, tinnitus may result from altered neural circuits in the auditory pathway, where the brain generates sound perceptions in response to the lack of normal auditory input.

Research indicates that these neural changes can be attributed to the brain’s ability to reorganize itself, known as neural plasticity.  When the brain loses sensory input from the ears, as in auditory damage, it may compensate by amplifying neural signals, leading to the perception of sound in tinnitus. This neural reorganization is a shared characteristic with phantom limb pain, where the brain attempts to compensate for the lost limb.

Seeing an Audiologist: The Key to Management

Consulting an audiologist who specializes in tinnitus is crucial for effective management of symptoms. A doctor of audiology can help you learn the truth about tinnitus by providing a thorough evaluation to identify underlying causes, rule out worst-case scenarios, and offer best options for successful treatment.

Cutting-Edge Options for Tinnitus

More and more treatment options, ranging from environmental sound therapy to cutting-edge bimodal stimulation therapy, have shown to be 80% or more effective in reducing a person’s perception of tinnitus. Treatment options are diverse and should be tailored to the individual needs of a patient, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s important, however, to seek the help of a doctor of audiology who specializes in the treatment of tinnitus.

• Hearing devices are often recommended for those with hearing loss, as they can replace the missing auditory stimulation as described in the phantom limb similarity discussion. Around 80% of tinnitus patients see a reduction in head noise with Lyric, a device that is placed inside the ear and is 100% invisible. Read more about it here.
• Sound therapy can be beneficial for tinnitus sufferers. The treatment uses external noises to alter the brain’s perception of tinnitus, and often involves white noise machines, nature sounds, and customized soundscapes tailored to the individual’s tinnitus profile, as determined from a thorough evaluation by a doctor of audiology.
• Tinnitus maskers are devices that produce soothing sounds to mask the tinnitus and provide relief.
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has proven effective in helping individuals manage the emotional and psychological aspects of tinnitus. By changing the way patients perceive and react to their tinnitus, CBT can reduce the distress and improve quality of life. Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can further assist in managing stress, which often exacerbates tinnitus symptoms.

Although tinnitus is widely misunderstood, it is often manageable. If you’re among the millions of people suffering with symptoms, it’s time to hear the truth about tinnitus.

Reach out to The Villages Health for a consultation with one of our board-certified audiologists. Or join us at any of our free audiology-related events to learn more about hearing loss and hearing devices.

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