buzz ear It is a general term used to describe a ringing or ringing in the ears that occurs in the absence of external sounds. This is a very common condition believed to occur in up to 15% of people. It can occur in one or both. People often describe the sound as “coming from their head.”
Tinnitus symptoms cause a serious problem
While tinnitus can be caused by conditions that require medical attention, it is often not a clinically serious condition, but the distress and anxiety it produces can often disrupt people’s lives.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus can be divided into two main types: pulsating and non-pulsing.
Pulsatile tinnitus is a noise in the ear that sounds like a heartbeat. People often describe visualizing a beat in their head and being able to feel their heartbeat. Tinnitus that sounds like a person’s heartbeat can be caused by normal or abnormal blood flow in the vessels near the ear. This type of tinnitus should be brought to your doctor’s attention, as there are several rare conditions that can cause it and which may require medical attention.
Non-pulsatile tinnitus is more common, but determining the cause can be more difficult. Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss.
However, people can develop tinnitus with normal hearing. While people with tinnitus often think the problem is in their ears, there is some evidence in tinnitus research that indicates that the noise originates in the brain, even though it is seen through the ears.
There are some specific ear or brain conditions associated with tinnitus. It is common for many of these conditions to have other associated symptoms, such as hearing loss or imbalance.
Despite the list of possible tinnitus causes, many times there may be no identifiable cause and doctors generally state that a patient has tinnitus. Even if the source of the tinnitus is identified, most tinnitus is caused by benign or non-threatening conditions.
Should You Worry About Tinnitus?
While tinnitus is often benign, there are a few specific symptoms that should alert people to seek medical evaluation:
Pulsating tinnitus of any kind
Tinnitus in only one ear
Annoying tinnitus that cannot be ignored
Tinnitus associated with sensations of spinning around the room (or dizziness)
Tinnitus associated with sudden changes or fluctuations in hearing.
If you have tinnitus along with any of the above symptoms, it’s important to discuss them with your doctor or ear, nose and throat doctor.
Tinnitus treatment
The most important thing you can do about tinnitus is discuss it with your doctor and you will often be referred for a hearing test because most tinnitus is associated with some degree of hearing loss.
Hearing tests often provide more information to your doctor about whether more tests are needed. If your tinnitus is determined to be caused by one of the previously mentioned conditions, targeted treatment of these conditions may provide relief. If you have hearing loss, hearing aids can help with hearing and tinnitus.
Distraction techniques like a white noise machine or background noise can also help, especially while sleeping.
One of the challenges in treating benign, nonpulsatile tinnitus is that there are few medications that reliably relieve symptoms.
It is also difficult to find medical treatment for tinnitus because we are still working on pinpointing the specific location where tinnitus originates. Despite this challenge, new research is showing effective non-pharmacological approaches to tinnitus, an example of which are neurostimulation techniques, which have shown promise in patients.
The most effective treatment for benign nonpulsating tinnitus is cognitive behavioral therapy. A specific behavioral therapy called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy has been consistently shown to reduce tinnitus compared to other treatment methods.
