Tinnitus: Facts and Treatment Options

TI-NIGHT-US or TINN-A-TUS? Both are commonly used and acceptable pronunciations.

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Tinnitus is ear or head noise that in most all cases is subjective - only the person with the tinnitus hears it. The US Centers for Disease Control estimate that 10% of the population, have some form of tinnitus.*

 

Descriptions of tinnitus vary widely including: hissing, buzzing, whistling, clicking, whooshing, roaring, or ringing. Some describe it as sounding like crickets, cicadas, or a high tension electrical wire. Tinnitus often varies in loudness and can be one sound or multiple, overlapping sounds.  

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A less common form of tinnitus is pulsatile tinnitus which is perception of a pulsating sound that is often in sync with the heartbeat.

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Causes: There are many causes of tinnitus. According to the American Tinnitus Association there are ~200 different health conditions that have tinnitus as a symptom. Some of the most common causes are:

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1. Hearing Loss/Age Related Hearing Loss: Tinnitus is often the first symptom experienced when sensorineural hearing loss develops, even though the hearing loss may not be perceived by the person.

2. Noise Induced Hearing Loss: This can result from a single, extreme exposure or develop over the years from chronic noise exposure on the job or recreationally.

3. Blockage of the ear canal, most commonly from ear wax (cerumen).

4. A substance touching the eardrum like a loose hair, wax, dirt or foreign object.

5. Head/sinus congestion.

6. Barometric Trauma resulting from an extreme or rapid change in air or water pressure. 

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Treatment Options: Some of the more common options include:

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1) Hearing aid use. A 2007 survey of hearing care professionals reported that ~60% of their patients experienced some relief of their tinnitus with hearing aid use.** 

Today's digital hearing aids also have tinnitus programs which can be utilized for masking, distraction or help with habituation of the tinnitus. 

2) Sound Therapy

3) Behavioral Therapy

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The American Tinnitus Association website, www.ata.org, has more extensive and detailed  information on the causes of and treatments for tinnitus. 

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*2008 National Health Interview Survey

**Tinnitus Treatment & the Effectiveness of Hearing Aids:  Hearing Care Professional Perceptions, S. Kochkin, PhD, R. Tyler, PhD, Dec 2008, The Hearing Review