Living With Tinnitus: Why The Ringing In Your Ears Isn’t Going Away

For many people, tinnitus is a temporary problem. Most people will have a few minutes of ringing or other monotone noise like static, roaring, or buzzing, but the sound eventually goes away and is forgotten. But for some, tinnitus is an ongoing struggle.

As to why some individuals struggle with permanent tinnitus while others don’t is not completely understood. However, there are factors our hearing specialists discuss with our patients to help explain why your tinnitus isn’t likely to go away.

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Can Trigger Tinnitus

One of the biggest factors which contribute to tinnitus is noise-induced hearing loss. As this type of hearing loss causes damage to the sound-transmitting hair cells in your inner ear, your brain may substitute the lack of external sound with internal feedback—AKA, your tinnitus.

Also, you don’t need to have had a traumatic hearing loss incident. Many people with moderate-to-severe tinnitus often have developed hearing loss over time as they attend concerts, listened to audio entertainment too loudly, and other seemingly innocuous pastimes.

Longterm exposure to high decibel levels is one of the most common factors in both noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus, and in our modern, noisy society, it is hardly surprising that more people have tinnitus now.

Tinnitus Symptoms Often Feed The Problem

Another key factor to consider why your tinnitus isn’t going away is that many of the symptoms that tinnitus sufferers have tend to feed back into the problem.

For example, say you have moderate tinnitus that mostly bothers you in the evening as you are trying to sleep. In the silence at night, your tinnitus seems to become louder, making you more aware and stressed by the sound. After struggling with this problem for a while, you will likely lose quality sleeping time by trying to fall asleep and begin to stress as you anticipate hearing your tinnitus loudly each night.

The lack of quality rest and the anticipatory stress are key factors in tinnitus. So, just the act of being frustrated with your tinnitus can make it even worse.

Find Tinnitus Help At Hearing Healthcare Centers

You don’t have to struggle with your tinnitus on your own. At Hearing Healthcare Centers, you can receive expert help from our hearing specialists in understanding and managing your tinnitus. Some of the management techniques you may want to investigate with our hearing specialists are:

• Tinnitus education and counseling
• Hearing aids with tinnitus support
• Checking for ear abnormalities which can cause tinnitus

For help managing your tinnitus symptoms, contact us to work with one of our experienced hearing specialists. We are committed to helping you achieve the best hearing quality possible.