Living With Tinnitus: Causes And Treatments For The Ringing In Your Ears

Most people experience tinnitus—continuous ringing, buzzing, or other sounds only the individual can hear—for at least short periods of time. For most, their tinnitus will go away in a matter of minutes or at most, a few days. But for around 29.7 million Americans, their tinnitus is a permanent fixture in their lives.

Here at Hearing Healthcare Centers, we understand how your hearing affects everything you do and how tinnitus can be incredibly disruptive to your life. To help you overcome your tinnitus, we want to identify the potential causes behind your tinnitus and what treatment options can really help you manage your tinnitus.

What Causes Tinnitus

Often, tinnitus can be brought on by hearing loss. As your hearing becomes damaged, your ears fill the void with tinnitus’ sound. However, there are other triggers which may bring on tinnitus, such as:

• Depression
• Stress
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Cerumen (earwax) build up
• Neck or head injuries
• Meniere's disease
• Loud noise exposure

Once you have an idea of what may have brought on your tinnitus, you will be in a better position to understand what treatment options you should pursue.

Proven Tinnitus Treatment Options

At this time, there is no cure for tinnitus, so you should be wary of anyone offer any such thing. However, there are proven tinnitus treatment and management options which you can use to help you control your tinnitus symptoms. Some of the best options are:

Hearing aids - Hearing aids are not just for hearing loss. Many modern digital hearing aids offer tinnitus support, with built-in sound generators that emit soothing background noise that our hearing specialists can program for you. Some tinnitus support hearing aids also have accompanying apps, so you can manage your tinnitus on the go.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy - Our hearing specialist also offer Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). This type of specialized therapy help to retrain your brain so it can better ignore your tinnitus.

Sound generators - If you prefer not to use hearing aids, there are other types of sound generators which can help keep you from noticing your tinnitus. Some of them are units you use as you go to sleep, while others are portable systems which you can take to help you manage a tinnitus flare-up. By consulting with one of our hearing specialists, we can help you determine which suits your lifestyle and tinnitus needs.

Medication - While there are no specific medications for tinnitus, if your tinnitus is triggered by other medical conditions such as hypertension, the appropriate medication can help alleviate your tinnitus.

To meet with a hearing specialist who can help you treat and manage your tinnitus, contact us today for a consultation.