Tinnitus is an internal ringing, buzzing, pulsing, roaring or hissing in your ears with no external source. Some tinnitus pops up for only a few seconds now and then, but chronic cases (lasting three months or longer) can negatively impact your life. In addition to the ringing, chronic cases can cause disrupted sleep, irritability, low productivity, anxiety or depression.
Let’s take a look at how we diagnose tinnitus and a few ways you can manage it.
Diagnosing Tinnitus
To diagnose tinnitus, your specialist will start by discussing your symptoms, including but not limited to:
- The type of noise
- The duration of your symptoms
- How often the ringing occurs
After checking the symptoms, they’ll conduct an ear exam to look for earwax blockages or fluid from an ear infection. They may conduct a hearing test if they don’t find any physical reason for the ringing. Because 90% of tinnitus cases have an underlying hearing loss, you may have both.
If you have pulsatile tinnitus, which sounds like a whooshing in tune with your heartbeat, they may order some imaging tests or take your blood pressure to determine if there is an underlying medical condition causing your symptoms.
Managing Tinnitus
After diagnosing tinnitus, your specialist will recommend a few management techniques, including one or more of the following:
- Sound masking. Sound masking distracts the brain from the internal ringing with calming sounds like ocean waves or white noise. You can use a sound machine, fan, tinnitus app or hearing aids to try sound masking.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT works by reframing your negative thoughts surrounding tinnitus to lower your stress when it arises. For example, “This ringing will never stop” could become “This therapy is a great first step to relief.”
- Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT). TRT combines sound masking with counseling to help reroute your negative response to tinnitus, making it less noticeable over time.
- Relaxation. Research suggests that stress could contribute to the beginning or worsening of tinnitus. Relaxation techniques like meditation, reading or taking classes at Black Swan Yoga help lower the stress related to tinnitus.
If you’re ready to take control of that ever-present ringing, contact Hearing Systems today to schedule a tinnitus consultation with one of our specialists.