When Should You See a Professional About Tinnitus?

Characterized by a ringing, buzzing or whooshing sound in your ears, tinnitus can be a frustrating condition to deal with. Although it’s not usually associated with any serious medical conditions, experiencing regular or constant noise can interfere with your day-to-day activities and affect your quality of life. Many people assume that tinnitus only refers to a constant ringing in your ears, but the condition is far more varied. While tinnitus can cause you to experience constant noise, your symptoms could come and go. Similarly, tinnitus doesn’t always cause you to hear a ringing sound in your ears. In fact, it may mean you hear a whooshing, throbbing, hissing, buzzing or humming sound. In some cases, people may even hear singing or music when they’re experiencing tinnitus. Of course, tinnitus is only present when people can hear these sounds, despite there being no external noise source. Essentially, you ‘hear’ a sound which isn’t really there. Whether you’re experiencing tinnitus in one ear or both, regularly or constantly, it’s important to seek professional assistance. With the right treatment and support, tinnitus can be treated, reduced or managed, so seeking professional help is certainly worthwhile.

Consulting a hearing instrument specialist about tinnitus

Tinnitus can be caused by various factors, such as ear infections or Meniere’s Disease, but it’s commonly associated with hearing loss. If you’re experiencing tinnitus, it’s important to have your hearing checked, and a hearing instrument specialist will be able to carry out a range of test to confirm whether this is applicable to you. Indeed, hearing instrument specialists are highly trained and expertly qualified to diagnose, treat and monitor a wide range of hearing and balance issues. Due to this, they’re often the first-choice practitioner for anyone suffering from hearing loss or tinnitus. Of course, you may already be aware that you’re experiencing hearing loss. If so, it’s still important to seek help if your symptoms of tinnitus are new, becoming worse or affecting your life in a more dramatic way. If your condition has changed over time, this may be why your tinnitus symptoms are occurring or worsening. Your hearing instrument specialist will monitor your condition and carry out relevant tests to determine whether there’s been any change in the nature of your hearing loss. Based on these results, they will be able to make appropriate adjustments to your treatment plan and help to relieve the symptoms you’re experiencing.

Can tinnitus be treated? 

Many people assume that nothing can be done about tinnitus, but this isn’t true at all. In the vast majority of cases, a hearing instrument specialist can help to reduce the effects of tinnitus or resolve the condition completely. Depending on the cause of your symptoms, the following treatments may be appropriate:

Hearing aids

If you’re experiencing tinnitus and hearing loss, wearing hearing aids could help to improve your hearing and mask the symptoms of tinnitus too. Sometimes, simply wearing the right hearing aids is enough to minimize symptoms significantly, but there are a variety of hearing aids with tinnitus-masking functions too.

Sound machines

Sound machines can be a highly effective way to manage the symptoms of tinnitus. As you may know, tinnitus can be more intrusive when you’re in a silent environment. By using a sound machine, you can gain respite from the buzzing, ringing or hissing and experience relief from symptoms. While sound machines won’t resolve tinnitus, they are a popular and effective way of managing the condition. A hearing instrument specialist will be able to advise whether sound machines are likely to be beneficial for you and, if so, which sound machines could help to completely or partially mask the type of noise you can hear.

Tinnitus retraining therapy

Tinnitus retraining therapy can take two forms; directive counseling or sound therapy. Both models aim to minimize symptoms based on the neurophysiology of the condition itself. By understanding how and why tinnitus occurs, as well as training your body to minimize the neuronal activity related to tinnitus, this form of therapy can help to reduce the impact the condition has on your everyday life and provide effective symptom management. As with every medical condition, tinnitus should be formally diagnosed by an appropriate medical professional. By visiting a hearing instrument specialist, you can obtain a comprehensive diagnosis of tinnitus, as well as an effective treatment and management plan. To find out more, contact Armand’s Hearing Center at Bradenton: (941) 357-2054 or at Sun City (813) 990-0335 now.