Let’s set the scene: you’re lying in bed at night trying to chill out after a long, stressful day. You feel yourself starting to drift off to sleep. Then you hear it: a ringing sound in your ears. Your TV, radio, and phone are all off so you’re sure it’s nothing in your room. Unfortunately, this sound is inside your ears and it won’t go away.
If this scenario sounds familiar, then it’s likely that you’re one of the 50 million people who suffer from tinnitus. This problem makes you hear buzzing, whooshing, and ringing sounds, among others, in your ears. The majority of people who have tinnitus think of it as a mere irritation; it comes and goes but doesn’t really affect their day-to-day lives. But this is not the case with everyone who suffers from tinnitus. For some, it can cause them to Disengage socially, have a hard time working, and to lose sleep.
What’s The Main Cause of Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is still a bit of a mystery, but this problem has been narrowed down to a handful of causes. It’s most prevalent in people who have damaged hearing, and also individuals who have heart conditions. It’s believed that tinnitus comes about due to restricted blood flow around the ears, which makes the heart pump blood harder in order for it to get where it needs to go. People who have iron-deficiency anemia frequently suffer from tinnitus symptoms since their blood cells do not carry enough oxygen throughout their body, which, once again, makes the heart work overtime to get oxygen and other nutrients where they need to go.
Tinnitus also happens as a symptom of other conditions, such as Meniere’s disease, ear infections, and ear canal blockages. Scenarios where tinnitus becomes more pronounced happen with all of these condition because they all impact the hearing. In other cases, there may not be an evident cause of tinnitus, which can make treatment challenging, but not impossible.
What Treatments Are Available For Tinnitus?
Depending on the underlying cause of your tinnitus, there might be a number of possible treatment options. One important thing to note, however, is that there is presently no known cure for tinnitus. In spite of this fact, there’s still an excellent possibility that your tinnitus will get better or even go away altogether because of these treatments.
Studies have revealed that hearing aids help mask tinnitus in people who suffer from hearing loss.
If covering up the noise doesn’t help, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven to help people live with the ringing in their ears that doesn’t fade away with other treatments. This mental health type of therapy can help individuals who suffer from tinnitus to function more normally on a day to day basis by helping them transform their negative thoughts into a more positive mindset.
