A Guide to Tinnitus

– This is a guest post by Joan McKechnie

Tinnitus is commonly referred to as ‘ringing in the ears’ though it can present itself in a wide range of nuisance sounds from ringing, chirping, or even clicking sounds. About 10% of the population experience tinnitus at different severity and frequency. It can appear once a month, every few days or even every few hours in some cases. About 1% of the adult population suffers from regular and persistent tinnitus and this can lead to a diminished quality of life unless measures are taken to manage the condition.

Tinnitus can appear amongst individuals of all age groups, though more common after exposure to harmful noise.  Health care professionals and researchers have made a number of assumptions over the years as to the precise cause of tinnitus, though it is still not fully understood. What is clear is that the medical community does not regard the condition as an illness or disease. Unlike other types of hearing loss conditions that may be caused due to an underlining issue, tinnitus is rarely an indication of a serious disorder. Assumptions as to the precise causes include:

• In the older generation, tinnitus is often linked with age-related hearing loss. Age related hearing loss or presbyacusis (its medical term) is a natural hearing loss process that can start from a person’s 40s, but more common in the over 65s.
• In younger people it is linked with noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) a condition that can affect people of all age groups due to harmful exposure to sound. Influencing factors include duration of the exposure, level of sound and distance from the noise source.
• Other causes include build-up of earwax that blocks the ear, anaemia (an iron deficiency in the blood) and middle ear infections.
• Additional rare causes include head trauma, misuse and side affects of certain medications as well as drug and alcohol abuse.

While the condition is not regarded as a ‘life threatening’ it still has to be investigated. Your first point of call is to book an appointment with your GP. A further test may be required at your local hearing centre or at the local audiology department of your nearest hospital. There is no ‘magic cure’ for tinnitus. If the condition persists there are means to manage the condition together with changes in lifestyle. Common suggestions include:

Lifestyle changes – tinnitus triggered or aggravated by stress, can be managed by seeking further support to deal with the cause of the stress. Changes in diet and exercise routines may also be recommended by your GP.

Hearing aids – those with hearing impairment may find that wearing a hearing aid can help mask their tinnitus via additional amplification.

Sound therapy – deliberate use of sound to reduce the perception or awareness of tinnitus or alleviate the distress associated with it can be classed as sound therapy. Sound therapy can be used as a self- help technique or as a component of a broader tinnitus management programme at a hospital or clinic.

Most treatment plans agree that ‘habituating’ to the tinnitus should be the ultimate goal. By ‘habituating’, it is meant that one will learn to accept and cope with their tinnitus, giving it less importance and lower priority, allowing more freedom to focus on other matters in one’s life.

Article by Joan McKechnie, BSc Hons, Audiology & Speech Pathology. Joan works for HearingDirect.com