It’s not unusual for individuals to have ringing in their ears, also known as tinnitus. It’s one of the most common health conditions in the world with some estimates indicating that up to 10 percent of the population experiences it at one point or another. The condition manifests as a sound in the ear that isn’t really there, typically, it’s a buzzing or ringing, but tinnitus can manifest as other sounds too.
Unfortunately, the causes of tinnitus aren’t as evident as the symptoms. In part, that’s because tinnitus could be caused by a wide variety of causes, some of which are temporary and others that can be more permanent.
That’s why your environment can be critically important. If the background sound of your particular setting is very noisy, you could be damaging your hearing. If your tinnitus is due to damage, it may end up being permanent.
What is tinnitus (and why is it so prevalent)?
Tinnitus is a condition that causes you to hear a sound that isn’t really there. Tinnitus normally manifests as a ringing or buzzing, but can also manifest as other noises, like screeching, thumping, or humming. Usually, the sounds are constant or rhythmic. For most people, tinnitus will manifest over a short period of time before solving itself and vanishing. In less common cases, tinnitus may become effectively permanent, a condition referred to as chronic tinnitus.
There are a couple of reasons why tinnitus is so prevalent. Firstly, environmental factors that can contribute to tinnitus are fairly prevalent. The second reason is that tinnitus is usually a symptom of an underlying condition or injury. Put simply, there are lots of such injuries or conditions that can cause tinnitus. Tinnitus is quite prevalent for these reasons.
How is tinnitus affected by environmental factors?
Other things can also produce tinnitus, including ototoxic medicines and chemicals. But when it involves “environmental” triggers, noise is the biggest offender. For example, some neighborhoods are noisier than others (traffic noise in some settings can get extremely high). Likewise, anyone who works around industrial equipment all day would be at risk of their environment exacerbating their tinnitus.
These environmental factors can be exceptionally important when considering your hearing health.
As with hearing loss, noise-associated damage can eventually trigger tinnitus symptoms. In these cases, the resulting tinnitus tends to be chronic in nature. Here are a few of the most common noise-related causes of tinnitus:
- Traffic: Traffic in densely populated locations can be a lot louder than you might expect it to be. And noise damage can occur at a lower volume than you may expect. Long commutes or regular driving in these noisy environments can eventually result in hearing damage, including tinnitus.
- Events: Tinnitus can sometimes be caused by loud noises, even if they aren’t experienced over a long time-period. Shooting a gun or going to a rock concert are instances of this type of noise.
- Noise in the workplace: It may come as a surprise that lots of workplaces, sometimes even offices, are pretty loud. Whether it’s industrial equipment or gabby office neighbors, spending eight hours a day around continuous workplace noise can eventually lead to tinnitus.
- Music: Listening to music at loud volumes is a pretty common practice. Doing this on a regular basis can frequently cause tinnitus symptoms.
Damage to the ears can happen at a far lower volume than people generally expect. For this reason, hearing protection should be used at lower volumes than you may expect. Noise associated tinnitus symptoms can often be avoided altogether by doing this.
What should I do if I’m experiencing tinnitus?
So, does tinnitus resolve? Perhaps, in some instances. But your symptoms might be irreversible in some instances. Initially, it’s basically impossible to tell which is which. If you have tinnitus because of noise damage, even if your tinnitus does clear up, your chance of having your tinnitus return and become chronic is a lot more likely.
One of the most main contributing factors to the development of tinnitus is that individuals tend to underestimate the volume at which damage occurs to their ears. If you experience tinnitus, your body is telling you that damage has already probably occurred. This means that there are a number of things that you should do to change your environment so as to prevent more irreparable damage.
Here are a few tips you can try:
- Reducing the volume of your environment when possible. For instance, you could shut the windows if you live in a noisy area or turn off industrial equipment that isn’t in use.
- If you’re in a loud setting, regulate the amount of exposure time and give your ears rests.
- Wearing hearing protection (either earplugs or earmuffs) in order to counter damage. You can also get some amount of protection from noise canceling headphones.
Dealing with symptoms
The symptoms of tinnitus are often a big distraction and are quite unpleasant for the majority of individuals who deal with them. As a result, they frequently ask: how do you quiet tinnitus?
If you hear a ringing or buzzing sound, it’s essential to set up an appointment, particularly if the sound doesn’t go away. We will be able to assess your symptoms and figure out how best to deal with them. For most cases of chronic tinnitus, there’s no cure. Here are a few ways to manage the symptoms:
- White noise devices: In some instances, you can tune out some of your tinnitus symptoms by utilizing a white noise generator around your home.
- Hearing aid: This can help amplify outside sounds and, as a result, drown out the ringing or buzzing produced by tinnitus.
- Retraining therapy: In some situations, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, gradually changing the way you process sound.
- Relaxation techniques: Tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be exacerbated by high blood pressure. Your tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be alleviated by utilizing relaxation techniques like meditation, for example.
- Masking device: This device is similar to a hearing aid, only instead of boosting sounds, it masks them. Your device will be specially calibrated to mask your tinnitus symptoms.
There’s no cure for tinnitus. That’s why managing your environment to protect your hearing is a great first step.
But tinnitus can be addressed and treated. Depending on your lifestyle, your hearing, and your tinnitus, we’ll be able to develop a specific treatment plan for you. For some people, managing your tinnitus may simply mean utilizing a white noise machine. For others, management may be more intense.
Learn how to best control your tinnitus by making an appointment right away!