Understanding Your Treatment Options for Tinnitus

Nearly 45 million Americans suffer from tinnitus, which is the perception of sound where no outside sound source is present. This phantom sound is typically identified as a ringing sound, but can also materialize as a buzzing, hissing, whistling, swooshing, or clicking.

The first thing to know about tinnitus is that it’s a symptom, not a disease. Consequently, tinnitus may signal an underlying health condition that, once cured, cures the tinnitus. Earwax accumulation or other blockages, blood vessel disorders, selected medications, and other underlying disorders can all trigger tinnitus, so the first step is ruling out any ailments that would call for medical or surgical treatment.

In most cases of tinnitus, however, no specific cause is discovered. In these instances, tinnitus is presumed to be caused by destruction of the nerve cells of hearing in the inner ear. Noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, and one-time exposure to very loud sounds can all cause tinnitus.

Whenever tinnitus is induced by nerve cell damage, or is associated with hearing loss, tinnitus often cannot be cured—but that doesn’t imply that people must suffer without assistance. Although there is no conclusive cure for the majority of instances of chronic tinnitus, various tinnitus treatment options are available that help patients live better, more comfortable, and more productive lives, even if the perception of tinnitus remains.

Here are some of the treatment options for tinnitus:

Hearing Aids

Most cases of tinnitus are linked with some form of hearing loss. In people with hearing loss, a smaller amount of sound stimulation reaches the brain, and in response, investigators believe that the brain changes physically and chemically to accommodate the insufficiency of stimulation. It is this maladaptive reaction to sound deprivation that results in tinnitus.

Tinnitus is intensified with hearing loss because when surrounding sound is muffled, the sounds identified with tinnitus become more notable. But when hearing aids are used, the amplified sound signals cause the sounds of tinnitus to blend into the richer background sounds. Hearing aids for tinnitus patients can then grant multiple benefits, among them enhanced hearing, enhanced auditory stimulation, and a “masking effect” for tinnitus.

Sound Therapy

Sound therapy is a general phrase used to describe a number of approaches to using external sound to “mask” the tinnitus. With time, the brain can learn to recognize the sounds of tinnitus as insignificant in comparison to the competing sound, thereby lessening the intensity level of tinnitus.

Sound therapy can be delivered through masking devices but can also be provided through certain hearing aid models that can stream sound wirelessly by using Bluetooth technology. Some hearing aid models even connect with compatible Apple products, including iPhones, so that any masking sounds downloaded on the Apple devices can be transmitted wirelessly to the hearing aids.

The types of masking sounds used may vary, including white noise, pink noise, nature sounds, and music. Sounds can also be specially designed to match the sound frequency of the patient’s tinnitus, providing individualized masking relief. Since each patient will respond differently to different masking sounds, it’s essential that you work with a experienced hearing professional.

Behavioral Therapies

Numerous behavioral therapies exist to help the patient address the psychological and emotional components of tinnitus. One example is mindfulness-based stress reduction, in which the individual learns to accept the affliction while establishing helpful coping methods.

You may have also heard the term Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), which mixes cognitive-behavioral therapy with sound masking therapy. With Tinnitus Retraining Therapy, patients learn to formulate healthy cognitive and emotional reactions to tinnitus while applying sound therapy to teach their brains to reclassify tinnitus as unimportant, so that it can be consciously ignored.

General Wellness

Together with the more specific sound and behavioral therapies, patients can participate in general wellness activities that frequently reduce the severity of tinnitus. These activities include healthy diets, frequent exercise, social activity, recreational activities, and any other activities that promote improved health and reduced stress.

Drug Therapies

There are presently no FDA-approved medications that have been found to cure or alleviate tinnitus directly, but there are drugs that can treat stress, anxiety, and depression, all of which can make tinnitus worse or are caused by tinnitus itself. In fact, some antidepressant and antianxiety medications have been demonstrated to supply some relief to patients with severe tinnitus.

Experimental Therapies

A flurry of promising research is being performed in labs and universities across the world, as researchers continue to hunt for the underlying neurological cause of tinnitus and its ultimate cure. Although several of these experimental therapies have shown some promise, keep in mind that they are not yet readily available, and that there’s no assurance that they ever will be. People struggling with tinnitus are encouraged to seek out current treatments rather than holding out for any experimental treatment to hit the market.

Here are a few of the experimental therapies presently being evaluated:

• Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) delivers electromagnetic pulses into the affected brain tissue to lessen the hyperactivity that is believed to cause tinnitus.
• Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is another means of delivering electromagnetic pulses into the hyperactive brain tissue that is believed to cause tinnitus.
• Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is similar to the previous therapies in its use of electromagnetic energy, the difference being that DBS is an invasive procedure requiring surgery and the placing of electrodes in the brain tissue.

Other medical, surgical, and pharmacological therapies exist, but the results have been mixed and the risks of invasive procedures quite often outweigh the benefits.

The Best Treatment For Your Tinnitus

The optimum tinnitus treatment for you is based on many factors, and is best appraised by a qualified hearing specialist. As your local hearing care professionals, we’ll do everything we can to help you find relief from your tinnitus. Set up your appointment today and we’ll find the customized solution that works best for you.