Let’s set the scene: You’re lying in bed trying to sleep after a long tiring day. You feel yourself starting to drift off to sleep. Then as you’re lying there in the quiet of the night, you start to notice the sound of buzzing in your ears. You’re certain it’s nothing in your bedroom because the TV, radio, and phone are all off. No, this noise is coming from within your ears and you’re not sure how to stop it.
If this situation has happened to you, then it’s likely that you’re one of the 50 million people who suffer from tinnitus. This problem causes you to hear buzzing, whooshing, and ringing sounds, among others, inside your ears. For the majority of people, tinnitus won’t have a significant impact on their lives beyond being a simple annoyance. But this is not the situation with everybody who suffers from tinnitus. For some, it can cause them to Disengage socially, have a hard time working, and to lose sleep.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is still a bit of a mystery, but specialists have narrowed down a few triggers for this problem. It’s most common in individuals who have damaged hearing, and also individuals who have heart problems. Restricted blood flow around the ears is generally considered to be the underlying cause of tinnitus. This causes the heart to work harder to pump blood to where it’s needed. People who have iron-deficiency anemia frequently experience tinnitus symptoms since their blood cells don’t carry enough oxygen throughout their body, which, again, works the heart harder to deliver nutrients to the correct place, often resulting in tinnitus.
Tinnitus also happens as a symptom of other conditions, like ear infections, canal blockages, and Meniere’s disease. Scenarios where tinnitus becomes more pronounced occur with all of these condition because they all affect the hearing. In other cases, there might not be an easily discernible cause of tinnitus, which can make treatment challenging, but not impossible.
How Can Tinnitus be Managed?
There are several treatments available to help stop the ringing in your ears, all dependent on the underlying cause of your tinnitus. One relevant thing to take note of, however, is that there is presently no known cure for tinnitus. But these treatments will still offer a good possibility for your tinnitus to get better or disappear completely.
Studies have revealed that hearing aids help cover up tinnitus in people who suffer from hearing loss.
If covering up the noise isn’t helpful, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been confirmed to help people live with the ringing in their ears that doesn’t fade away with other treatments. This type of mental health therapy helps people change their negative thoughts about tinnitus into more positive, realistic thoughts that will help them function normally on a day to day basis.