Understanding Your Treatment Options for Tinnitus

June 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment

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.

Filed Under: Articles, Common Conditions of the Ear, Featured, Hearing, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care, Tinnitus

Professional musicians at greater risk of developing hearing loss

February 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Continuous exposure to loud music: that’s what can damage your hearing. Hearing loss starts with recurrent exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels (decibels being a unit used to measure loudness). This means musicians are at a very high risk, considering the high decibels found at a concert.

Check out these common activities:

Whisper at 6 feet: 30 decibels (dB)
Regular dialogue at 3 feet: 60 – 65 (dB)
Motorcycle: 100 dB
Front row at a rock show: 120 to 150 dB

A musician’s hearing is what is most predisposed to damage from the performance of their craft. Fame, wealth, and screaming fans — these are a couple of the terms and phrases you’d pick in order to summarize the everyday life of a professional musician. The terms “hearing loss” or “tinnitus,” signify the negative side-effects of all that glory, wealth, and screaming.
The culprit of all that hearing loss is recurring subjection to deafening noise. In the long run, loud noise will irreparably destroy the hair cells of the inner ear, which are the sensory receptors responsible for sending sound to the brain. Like an ample patch of grass worn out from frequent trampling, the hair cells can in a similar fashion be wiped out from repeated overexposure to loud noise – the dissimilarity, of course, being that you can’t grow brand new hair cells.

Signs of Hearing Loss

In reality, musicians are close to four times more likely to acquire noise-induced hearing loss in contrast with the average person, according to scientists at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology. The scientific study also discovered that professional musicians are about 57% more likely to suffer from tinnitus — a disorder connected with a repeated ringing in the ears.

Unfortunately, musicians don’t see an audiologist until it’s too late and they experience:

A ringing or buzzing sound in the ears
Any pain or discomfort in the ears
Difficulty comprehending speech
Trouble following discussions in the presence of background noise

The trouble is, when these symptoms are present, the damage has already been done. So, the leading thing a musician can do to deter long-term, permanent hearing loss is to schedule an appointment with an audiologist before symptoms are present.
If you’re a musician, an audiologist can recommend custom made musicians’ plugs or in-ear-monitors that will give protection to your hearing without limiting your musical performance. As a musician, you have unique needs for hearing and hearing protection, and audiologists or hearing specialists are the professionals specifically trained to provide this custom protection.
Considering the unique requirements of musicians — as well as the significance of protecting the details of sound — the best road to take is to schedule an appointment with an audiologist.

How musicians, and fans, can protect their ears

Rock shows are literally ear-splittingly loud, and continued unprotected exposure can cause some considerable harm, which several popular musicians know all too well.
Chris Martin, the lead vocalist for the band Coldplay, has dealt with with Tinnitus for a decade. According to Martin:
“Looking after your ears is unfortunately something you don’t think about until there’s a problem. I’ve had tinnitus for about 10 years, and since I started protecting my ears it hasn’t got any worse (touch wood). But I wish I’d thought about it earlier. Now we always use moulded filter plugs, or in-ear monitors, to try and protect our ears. You CAN use industrial headphones, but that looks strange at a party.”
Other significant musicians that suffer from hearing loss or tinnitus include Neil Young, Ozzy Osbourne, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Bono, Sting, Ryan Adams, and more, many of which indicate regret that they hadn’t done more to take care of their ears all through their careers. Lars Ulrich from Metallica points out:
“If you get a scratch on your nose, in a week that’ll be gone. When you scratch your hearing or damage your hearing, it doesn’t come back. I try to point out to younger kids … once your hearing is gone, it’s gone, and there’s no real remedy.”

Even though musicians are at greater risk for acquiring hearing loss or tinnitus, they can slash their risk by taking protective measures. Plus, everyday folks who are subjected to loud environments should also seek protection.

Filed Under: Anatomy and Physiology, Articles, Choosing a Hearing Aid, Common Conditions of the Ear, Hearing, Hearing Aid Technology, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care, Tinnitus

Preventing work related hearing loss with high fidelity, custom-fit ear plugs

February 21, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Everyday work-related activities have high decibel levels associated with them – not just for people who work in loud environments. For example, a power saw can reach 110 decibels, a newspaper press 97, a chain saw 120, a sporting event 105, and a jet takeoff 150. Musicians, production line workers, construction workers, airport staff, emergency workers, plumbers, and craftsmen are all likely to develop extreme hearing loss and tinnitus.
Did you know that 85 decibels is the noise intensity at which repetitive exposure can cause significant hearing damage?
Did you know that 100 decibels is the sound degree reached by a rock concert? Bad news for anyone who plays in a band or who likes to go see one.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says an amazing 30 million people in the U.S. are subjected to dangerous sound levels, representing one of the biggest occupational threats over the previous 25 years.

Work-related hearing loss impacts countless numbers

This is a story that’s been around the block a time or two, and it happens more than you think. Just take in the fact that in 2009 alone, there were 21,000 incidents of occupational hearing loss reported.
Kevin Twigg of Stockport, England understands all too well about the occupational hazards of loudness. That’s because he worked on evaluating and repairing law enforcement car sirens — which get to between 106 to 118 decibels — for more than 30 years.
After retirement, severe tinnitus set in along with severe hearing loss that mandated the use of hearing aids. Having failed to adopt the safety actions that would alleviate the noise levels, Twigg’s employer was found liable in court, losing a case in which Twigg won big.

4 reasons why you should choose custom-fit ear plugs over the off-the-shelf foam variety

Why are custom-fit ear plugs so much better than those cheap foam ear plugs? We explore the reasons:

1. avoidance of the “Occlusion Effect”
With foam ear plugs, the user will perceive a hollowed out or boomy sound in their voice when speaking, singing, or playing an musical instrument. This bothersome noise is referred as the “occlusion effect.”
Custom-fit ear plugs are molded to the ear, forming a deep seal that helps prevent this distracting sound.

2. conservation of sound quality
Common foam ear plugs muffle speech and music. By reducing noise mainly in the high frequency range, rather than in the mid-to-low frequency range, music and voices appear to be unnatural and indecipherable. Foam ear plugs also decrease sound by 30-40 decibels, which is excessive for the prevention of hearing damage.
Custom-fit ear plugs will minimize sound more evenly across frequencies while lowering sound volume by a lower decibel level, thereby maintaining the all natural quality of speech and music.

3. price & convenience
Custom ear plugs can last up to four years, almost always at a price tag of well under $100.
Let’s do some math on the disposable foam plugs:
$3.99 for 10 pairs equals $0.39 per pair
$0.39 per pair X 5 days per week X 52 weeks per year X 4 years = $405.60
With custom-fit ear plugs, you will certainly save cash in the long run and will avert all of those outings to the store. No one likes shopping for ear plugs, so while the initial visit to the audiologist seems like a pain, in the long run you will also conserve time.

4. preserving the environment
Throw-away ear plugs produce a lot of waste:
5 days per week X 52 weeks per year = 260 pairs of foam ear plugs tossed out every single year.

How to protect your ears while at work

The ideal method at work requires the use of custom-fit ear plugs, sometimes referred to as musicians plugs. You just have to be fitted for them by your hearing consultant, who can tailor specifically to you, your job, and your needs.
This is much better than picking up disposabless at the community store, and it’s cheaper and better on the environment in the long run, too.

Schedule an appointment today

The benefits of custom-fit ear plugs speak can be seen in many facets of life. Particularly if you undergo exposure to loud noises at work, or attend several concerts, be sure to schedule a consultation with a hearing expert today. Custom-fit ear plugs will protect your ears the best.

Filed Under: Articles, Choosing a Hearing Aid, Common Conditions of the Ear, Hearing, Hearing Aid Technology, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care, Tinnitus

A Brief History of Hearing Aids

February 14, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Approximately 35 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss. In perspective, very few of them are prescribed a hearing aid. They can be quite costly, but their advantages are unparalleled and well worth it. On average, a hearing aid costs about $1500. They have come a long way from the primitive ear trumpets of 200 years ago. As a result of research over the years as well as growth in technology, these devices now come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and even colors. Plus, they only weigh a few ounces, providing an unmatched versatility to the user. They used to weigh tens of pounds! With connections to Bluetooth and filtering capabilities inherent in today’s models, there has been quite an evolution in terms of these devices.

On the Ear

It wasn’t till the late 1930s that hearing aids that could be worn on the ear with relative comfort got popular. These devices were made by a Chicago electronics manufacturer, featuring a thin wire connected to an earpiece and receiver. A battery pack which attached to the user’s leg made it hard to get around easily, though. More compact models emerged during World War II for more reliable service to the user thanks to the invention of printed circuit boards.

Precursors to Hearing Aids

Ear trumpets were crafted for the very wealthy, such as the Reynolds Trumpet, personally made for Joshua Reynolds, a famous painter of his time. The ear trumpet is a horn-shaped instrument that is designed to direct sound into the inner ear. It was invented back in the 17th century, which were beneficial only to those who suffered from a partial hearing impairment. These were large, cumbersome devices that only served to amplify sound within the immediate environment. Just think of an old phonograph with the conical sphere and you’ll get a good mental picture of what these resembled. As the 18th century approached, they came even further.

How can Phones Improve Hearing?

When the 19th century came about, electrical technologies emerged spurred on by the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. This invention was a catalyst for advancement leading to electrical transmission of speech. Thomas Edison was inspired by this invention and came up with the carbon transmitter for the telephone in 1878. This was designed to boost the basics of the telephone as well as the electrical signal to improve hearing. The 17th and 18th centuries brought with them devices that offered only limited amplification qualities.

Modern Models

Behind-the-ear models, invented in 1964 by Zenith Radio, boasted digital signal-processing chips. Then along came hybrid analog-digital models and then fully digital models by 1996. By the year 2000, programmable hearing aids were on the scene that gave users increased flexibility, customization and comfort. Today, most — about 90 percent — of all hearing aids are digital in nature.

Vacuum Tubes Were Revolutionary Yet Cumbersome

Vacuum tubes, put out by Western Electric Co., came next in New York City in 1920. Manufactures built upon the technology that came from Lee De Forest’s finding of the three-component tube years earlier. They offered not only better amplification but also better frequency. However, they were huge and impractical. They got to the size of a small box eventually, but they were still quite inconvenient.
Today’s hearing aids are light years ahead in terms of size, weight, functionality and adaptability.

Filed Under: Articles, Choosing a Hearing Aid, Common Conditions of the Ear, Hearing, Hearing Aid Technology, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care, Tinnitus

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Hearing Aids

February 5, 2015 By Leave a Comment

Hearing aids have went through a large number of iterations in their 200-plus year history. The technology that is implemented in hearing aids has historically been developed by means of a devoted scientist who is either affected by hearing loss or has a friend or family member affected by hearing loss. As an example, Alexander Graham Bell’s mother had substantial hearing loss and his wife was deaf.

Here are 10 other little-known facts about hearing aids:

1. Hearing aids can be synced up with wireless devices through state of the art technology like Bluetooth, so users are able to enjoy direct signals from their smart phone, MP3 player, TV, and other gadgets.

2. Hearing aids are not one size fits all – in fact, they can and should be programmable. This means they have the capability to recall the most comfortable settings for the user, often readjusting in real time to the surrounding environment.

3. Digital hearing aids – a recent advancement — have drastically diminished the occurrence of pestering feedback, echoes, and background noises. These were par for the course as part of earlier technologies, and they made concentrating much harder.

4. In addition to the amplification of sound, modern hearing aids can also enhance and clarify sound.

5. When used in combination with special induction or hearing loops, hearing aid users can more clearly hear notices in public areas, meetings, airports, arenas, and other congested areas. This technology enhances sounds and minimizes all the background noise.

6. It used to be that hearing aids were only manufactured in beige and related colors to match people’s skin color, so that they were not easily recognizable. Today, users are welcoming their hearing aid technology, exhibiting a range of colors and patterns to show off their devices and stick out in a crowd.

7. Similarly, hearing aids are smaller in size than ever before. They used to be large, cumbersome gadgets that weighed several pounds and barely amplified sound. Today, they only weigh a few ounces and provide remarkably better sound quality.

8. Today, you can purchase water resistant and waterproof hearing aids to better fit in with your lifestyle. Water resistant hearing aids can tolerate low levels of humidity and moisture, while waterproof hearing aids can withstand higher levels of moisture during showering and even swimming.

9. Instead of having to frequently replace the batteries in hearing aids, many are now made with rechargeable technology to cut down on upkeep costs.

10. Hearing aids do much more than amplify sound – they can also contain special tinnitus therapy components that provide the user with relief when it comes to constant ringing in the ear.

Now that you learned some interesting facts about hearing aids and their accompanying technology, you can better understand what they have to offer the young and the old alike.

Filed Under: Articles, Choosing a Hearing Aid, Common Conditions of the Ear, Hearing, Hearing Aid Technology, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss, Preventative Care, Tinnitus

Tinnitus/Ringing-in-the-Ears in Kids

January 11, 2014 By Leave a Comment

Many adults hear the constant noises of tinnitus (ringing in the ears), but few individuals realize it affects children too. Many kids also experience the symptoms of tinnitus. While adults can usually determine that the sounds they are hearing are abnormal, many children assume the noise is a regular part of life. If your child shows signs of tinnitus it is important to look into it to rule out any underlying condition.

Tinnitus is caused by a number of different conditions in both adults and children. Among the many potential causes are circulatory problems, hearing loss from damaging noise, a build-up of wax in the ear canal, a misalignment in the jaw joints, and trauma to the neck and head. Additionally, tinnitus can result from slow-growing tumors on nerves in the ears and face. Your family pediatrician can help rule out any specific ear problems. If your appointment does not uncover any obvious issues, your doctor will likely advise you to investigate further with an audiologist or ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist.

Should your child’s specialist find a specific issue that is causing the tinnitus, there is a good chance that the problem can be addressed and the condition eliminated. However, many kids and adults experience tinnitus without a clear cause. In this case, there is no way to eradicate the problem, so your focus should shift to helping your child cope with the sounds he or she is hearing.

Tinnitus can be distracting, making it difficult for your child to pay attention at home or at school. Background noise is an effective way to fight back against this problem. Run a fan or soft music in the background while your child is at home. If your child is suffering from hearing loss alongside tinnitus, a hearing aid can help her focus on important sounds and filter out distractions.

Tinnitus can cause some kids to experience psychological distress. In this case it is important to be supportive and reassuring about the condition. Explain to your child that tinnitus is a common condition that many other kids and adults experience. Ask your audiologist about how you can explain tinnitus to your child in a way that makes sense to them.Take steps to help your child deal with stressful situations, as many children find that stress can make their tinnitus symptoms much worse.

Always keep in mind that many kids outgrow their tinnitus without intervention, so it may cease to be an issue. While it may be a nuisance now, with time your child can overcome it.

Filed Under: Tinnitus Tagged With: ,

Tinnitus in Your Ears? Music Can Help You

June 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sound is an integral part of our world, but like most things, its impact on us depends on both the quality of the sounds we hear, and the quantity of them. Listening to music can be soothing and relaxing, but it can also be annoying and irritating if the volume is excessive.

When it comes to music and other sounds, quality is subjective, one that depends on individual preferences; the quantity of it (as measured by volume, in decibels), however, is incredibly objective, and can be measured. We know that when people are exposed to very loud sounds or music above a specific decibel level for prolonged amounts of time, those sounds can harm the miniature hair cells in our ears, and cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). It has been estimated that in our raucous society, as many as one in five Americans have developed some amount of tinnitus (a constant ringing in the ears) or other forms of hearing loss as the result of NIHL. Even muted sounds below 10 decibels (half the volume of a whisper) may cause stress and anxiety if you are exposed to them long enough; have you ever been kept awake at night by the sound of a dripping faucet or ticking clock?

But despite the fact that sound can be a cause of stress and hearing damage, it can also be a tool to treat the effects of hearing damage. Many people have experienced the soothing effects of soft music, the relaxing sound of falling water or ocean surf, or the meditative sounds of chanting or Tibetan singing bowls. Increasingly, these types of sounds are being used by psychologists to treat anxiety rather than create it, and by audiologists to treat hearing problems such as tinnitus rather than cause them. In hospitals and clinical situations, music therapy has been successfully used to accelerate recovery from operations, to aid stroke victims during their recovery, and to impede the development of Alzheimer’s dementia. People have successfully used white noise generators (which create a blend of frequencies similar to the sound of ocean surf) to help people conquer insomnia and sleep disorders, and to reduce their perceived awareness of background sounds in noisy environments.

More specifically related to hearing loss, sound and music therapy is being used more and more to treat tinnitus by creating what specialists call a threshold shift, which allows tinnitus patients to psychologically disguise the constant buzzing or ringing sounds they hear. By using specialized tones or carefully chosen music tracks, hearing specialists have been able to teach tinnitus patients to retrain their minds to choose the sounds they want to hear over the ringing sounds caused by the tinnitus. It’s not as if the ringing disappears; it’s more that the music therapy has allowed them to focus their attention somewhere else, and thus no longer feel the anxiety and stress that tinnitus causes.

For tinnitus sufferers seeking new remedies, music therapy is worth looking at. Give us a call to go over your specific situation.

Filed Under: Tinnitus Tagged With: , , , ,

What Exactly is Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and What Types of People Can Benefit from It?

April 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Tinnitus is sadly a common condition, affecting approximately 50 million Americans over 50. Those who suffer from tinnitus hear constant sounds that no one around them can hear. These sounds vary from high-pitched ringing sounds, buzzing or roaring, or rapid clicking sounds similar to crickets chirping. Many people “learn to live with” their tinnitus, considering it as an annoyance rather than a condition. However for other people, this constant ringing in the ears leads to additional symptoms of stress and distress, sleep disorders, fatigue, depression, and anxiety.

Some forms of tinnitus respond well to treatment with hearing aids which are programmed to filter and suppress the ringing or buzzing sounds. In this article, we want to introduce you to an alternative tinnitus treatment known as Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). Using a combination of mechanisms, TRT “retrains” tinnitus sufferers and gives them the ability to reduce their perceptions of the noises they hear, so they no longer react to the sounds negatively, and thus eventually cease being bothered by them.

Discovered in the 1980s by neuroscientist Pawel Jastreboff, TRT challenges the assumptions of many audiologists that tinnitus is a physical disorder due to ear damage that cannot be fixed. Jastreboff has proposed an alternate model for tinnitus based on his background in behavioral neuroscience. Thus freed from the temptation to regard the problem as something that cannot be fixed, he set about developing behavioral modification techniques that could fix it.

According to Jastreboff’s model, tinnitus is not a disease or condition in itself, but a function of hyperacusis – the ability of some people to become aware of normal sounds generated by the auditory system that most people filter out or are unaware of. Jastreboff reasons that the true problem for tinnitus sufferers is the over-reaction and hyper-sensitivity to the ringing or buzzing sounds, not the sounds themselves. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy is a form of individualized counseling perform by people with special training and qualifications. The sessions are very precise to each individual’s needs and aim to teach tinnitus sufferers to mentally curb their reactions to undesirable sounds by focusing on the desirable ones.

Counselors trained in TRT have had remarkable successes helping patient eliminate their negative reactions to the sounds they hear, thereby relieving distress.

Filed Under: Tinnitus Tagged With: ,

Tinnitus Indications and Warning Signs

December 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Tinnitus is defined by The American Tinnitus Association as the condition in which a person hears sounds that most often no one else can hear. It is a condition that seems to be related to age (most cases appear after the age of 50), and is much more common in men than in women. An estimated 50 million Americans have tinnitus; for some reason more of them in the South than other parts of the country.

Tinnitus can be of different types, and those who experience it may hear very different types of sounds. Subjective tinnitus is the most common, and is defined as the person hearing sounds that no one else can hear; objective tinnitus is much more rare, and is indicated when a doctor or audiologist can also detect these sounds. Other less common types of tinnitus include 1) hearing low-frequency sounds, often mistaken for being actual sounds in the environment, 2) pulsatile tinnitus, in which the person hears rhythmic beats in time with their pulse, and 3) musical hallucinations, or hearing music that is not really present.

The most common symptom of tinnitus is a persistent, almost-always present, high-pitched ringing noise in one or both ears. Though this is the most commonly heard sound others hear buzzing, clicking, whistling, roaring and hissing that can increase and decrease in pitch and volume. If you have mild tinnitus, you might tend to notice it only in quiet environments, because the ambient sounds of noisy environments can mask the buzzing or ringing sounds. Some experience the symptoms of tinnitus more when they are lying down or sitting, as opposed to standing up. Although for most people tinnitus is more a nuisance than anything else, for some it has severe repercussions: they may suffer increased levels of stress, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Some tinnitus sufferers have complained that the condition made it more difficult for them to concentrate or sleep.

Tinnitus can be diagnosed by one of our specialists by performing a short, painless examination. Scheduling an appointment is highly recommended, because sometimes tinnitus can be an indicator of serious disease conditions such as arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, and Meniere’s disease, or indicate more serious forms of hearing loss.

Filed Under: Tinnitus Tagged With: , , , , ,

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