Tinnitus Sucks!

The National Institutes of Health recently produced this educational piece.Tinnitus is commonly described as a ringing in the ears, but some people also hear it as a roaring, clicking, hissing or buzzing. For some, it’s a minor annoyance. For others, it can interfere with sleep and grow to be a source of mental and emotional anguish. source.. http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/issue/Aug2011/Feature2

Myth: Tinnitus is all in the mind.
Fact: Although many people think that tinnitus is a psychological condition this is not the case. Tinnitus can be generated anywhere in the auditory system – in the ears, nerves of hearing or the auditory pathways in the brain.

Myth: Tinnitus only affects elderly people.
Fact: Tinnitus affects people of all ages, including children.

Myth: Tinnitus is a form of hearing loss.
Fact: Tinnitus is not a form of hearing loss: in fact people with completely normal hearing may experience tinnitus.

Myth: Tinnitus causes deafness.
Fact: Tinnitus does not cause hearing loss, the opposite is true and hearing loss can sometimes give rise to tinnitus.

Myth: Tinnitus worsens with time.
Fact: In the great majority of cases, tinnitus tends to improve rather than get worse over time.

Myth: There’s nothing that can be done to help.
Fact: While there is no absolute cure for tinnitus there is much that can be done to help people to manage it effectively.

Myth: Tinnitus is only heard as ringing.
Fact: People with tinnitus have reported hearing a huge range of noises such as whistling, buzzing, humming, revving engines and even music.

Myth: Tinnitus is only experienced in the ears.
Fact: Although some people describe hearing tinnitus in their ears other people describe it as being inside the head or even around the outside of the head.

Myth: Botox cures tinnitus.
Fact:  At this time only a very small scale study in the US has been done where Botox was injected around the ears. While the study showed some positive effects, further large scale studies need to be conducted before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.

When you are wondering, “What is tinnitus?!?!”, or “What is this sound in my ear?”, we think that a lot of the information out there can be difficult to understand… as a patient, I want to understand what is going on without having to break out the medical dictionary! We hope this definition of tinnitus and easy to understand tinnitus information will help you!

It is pronounced Tin-NIGHT-us or TIN-ih-tus.

Patients with tinnitus experience phantom sounds within the ear. It been described as a high pitched whining, electric, buzzing, hissing, humming, or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, tunes, songs, beeping, or even a pure steady tone like you might hear in a hearing test.

It has also been described as a “wooshing” sound, like wind or waves. Tinnitus may involve one or both ears, and may also be affected by movement of eyes, shoulders, head, or jaw. It can be intermittent or constant.

The most common cause is hearing loss. Ear wax buildup, infection or anything that affects hearing can make it worse.

Tinnitus can result from exposure to excessive loud noise, Multiple Sclerosis, whiplash injury, TMJ disorder (clicking types), head injuries, depression, anxiety, overuse of some drugs such as aspirin and NSAIDS, a withdrawal symptom from benzodiazepines, antibiotics such as gentamicin, erythromycin, and vancomycin, as well as some chemotherapy drugs.

However, don’t panic!  Many patients find that their tinnitus is not caused by serious illness, and that they can feel better with this easy to execute plan.

We understand how difficult it is to deal with… you just want to know WHAT is tinnitus and HOW can I turn this sound OFF? Don’t worry… things can get better!