A common symptom, often experienced in conjunction with hearing loss, tinnitus is the experience of noises that have no discernable external source. Often manifesting as sounds like ringing, buzzing, whistling or pulsing, it can become a chronic issue, affecting people for years.
Often, taking the opportunity to treat it early can help you more effectively manage your tinnitus and the impact that it might have on your life. As such, here are some of the ways that you can recognize the first signs of tinnitus and how professionals like your audiologist can help with it.
The Symptoms of Tinnitus
Tinnitus is not, in itself, a specific condition. Rather, the term exists to define the symptom itself. The primary symptom of tinnitus is the experience of noises that others do not hear. They can be experienced in the ear or in the brain. This can include ringing, roaring, hissing, whistling or buzzing noises. Some people experience tinnitus that mirrors their heartbeat while others experience it as a melody.
Tinnitus can be experienced in a wide range of ways. Some people experience it intermittently, but for some people, it never fully turns off. In some cases, it goes away on its own, but a lot of people experience it throughout their life.
If you do experience tinnitus, it’s often recommended that, unless there are other symptoms, you give it a day. If you have experienced a loud noise or very high-pitched noise, it can cause temporary tinnitus. If it goes on longer than that, or you have any of the following risk factors, you should call your audiologist.
Risk Factors of Tinnitus
There are plenty of risk factors that can make tinnitus more likely in your case. Exposure to loud noise is perhaps the most common and can be prevented by limiting your exposure or by wearing hearing protection. Other potential risk factors include the following:
- Hearing loss: A lot of people experience hearing loss and tinnitus together. The structures of the inner ear can change as a result of aging and hearing loss, which can also lead to the perception of noises that aren’t there.
- Medical conditions: There are plenty of medical conditions, including Meniere’s disease, ear canal infections, head injuries and the like that can cause tinnitus. As such, it’s important to make sure your audiologist has a full medical history.
- Using certain medications: Some medications may put you at a higher risk of experiencing tinnitus. As such, you should ensure that you tell your audiologist about all medications that you are using and have been using recently prior to the experience of tinnitus.
- Changes in blood pressure or flow: High blood pressure is known to be a potential cause of tinnitus, as is the constriction of blood vessels to the ear. This can be caused by habits like smoking and dietary choices.
If you are experiencing any of these risk factors alongside tinnitus, then you should get in touch with your audiologist sooner rather than later.
Not All Tinnitus is the Same
Just as tinnitus can have different causes, the experience of it can be different as well. As mentioned, it might be intermittent or consistent, but it might also present in different ways. There is subjective tinnitus, for instance, which is the most common type, meaning that only you are able to hear it.
Objective tinnitus is slightly different. While the average person won’t be able to hear what you’re hearing, your audiologist might with the help of a stethoscope. This usually happens due to damage to the middle ear bone, blood vessel issues or muscle contractions. As such, the treatments for different kinds of tinnitus can differ, as well. In some cases, treating the cause can alleviate or remove the symptom. However, this is not common.
Get in Touch with Your Audiologist
If you have any reason to suspect that you have tinnitus and it’s not going away after 24 hours, then it might be time to call in your audiologist. Audiologists can help diagnose and treat tinnitus, looking at the potential causes as well as offering solutions. Solutions can include things like tinnitus masking devices that can help you habituate the tinnitus so that the sound isn’t as noticeable. Meanwhile, causes can include anything from hearing loss to changes in blood pressure and the use of certain kinds of medication.
Get in touch with Albuquerque Hearing and Balance today by calling our team at (505) 750-9569. We’ll be glad to help you on the road to better hearing health.