Tinnitus
What is Tinnitus?
Quite simply, tinnitus is an annoying sound that only you can hear. It can be a ringing, buzzing, hissing, crackling, rumbling or roaring sound, and may be temporary or permanent. Tinnitus is completely unique to each person. Tinnitus is also surprisingly common, and about 10% of people experience it all the time. Tinnitus is a symptom that can be caused by many things and can begin for no apparent reason. Unfortunately tinnitus cannot be cured and it can have a major impact on a person’s life, bringing stress, anxiety, anger, frustration and loss of sleep.
What causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus can originate anywhere between the inner ear and the brain and can be constant or intermittent, temporary or chronic.
Researchers are still uncertain as to how tinnitus begins, but it can be a result of a variety of causes:
• Exposure to loud sounds
• Natural aging process
• Sudden impact noises
• Injuries to the head and neck
• Reaction to medication
• Emotional distress or stress
Normally when we hear a sound, the sound waves travel through the ear canal to the middle ear and then to the inner ear where hair cells transform the sound waves into electrical signals, which then travel to the brain. The brain translates these signals into meaningful information, which is the sound that we hear. Although the causes appear to vary, experts suspect that in many cases tinnitus results from damage to the hair cells in the inner ear. The damaged hair cells send incorrect signals to the brain resulting in the perception of sound that isn’t really there. If you are experiencing any symptoms of tinnitus it is advisable to consult a hearing care professional.
There are many ways to take control of your tinnitus and reduce its impact on your life, although it may never go away completely. Everyone has a unique experience of tinnitus, so a hearing care professional can help you manage your particular symptoms using a combination of education, counseling and sound therapy.
Our lives are enriched by all the sounds that we hear, but for tinnitus sufferers the listening pleasure becomes suppressed when the effects of tinnitus take over. Sound therapy is a way of relieving the symptoms of tinnitus by adding pleasant sounds to the sounds you hear already. It works by moving your attention towards the sounds you want to hear rather than the sound in your head. You can compare it to listening to a single violin in a quiet room. Alone you only focus on the violin, but if you add a whole symphony orchestra, the violin blends into the overall sound. This is what happens with tinnitus during sound therapy treatment. Hearing aids, are tiny technological marvels that not only amplify sounds and improve hearing, but they can also provide a range of solutions to alleviate the effects of tinnitus. Hearing aids can be programmed to play a wide range of gentle relief sounds like white noise and soothing ocean wave sounds, to take away the annoyance of tinnitus, helping you to relax and enjoy sounds again. These therapy sounds can be controlled discreetly using an App on your smartphone. You can adjust the sounds until they give the relief you need and you can wirelessly stream alternative tinnitus relief options, such as your favourite music, audio books, podcasts, or even relaxation guides.