Tinnitus Maskers: Do You Need Them?
A hundred million people or so may be suffering from incessant ringing in the ears. In medical literature, it is called tinnitus, described as perception of noise that only exists internally. In other words, the noise heard by a tinnitus sufferer does not exist in the environment. So, wherever he goes, he will hear the noise. It’s not a disease on its own but is said to be a symptom of one. However, many cases of tinnitus seem to occur alone. It can be disconcerting, but it can be managed appropriately. Using tinnitus maskers is one strategy that aids sufferers to cope with it.
Masking works by providing a different sound stimulus for the sufferers. The masking noise is a broad spectrum noise that is usually called white noise or broadband noise. It’s quite similar to the noise you get when you turn your radio on and tune it into a blank frequency. The sound emitted by a tinnitus masker is soothing. When adjusted to the right volume, it can drown the ringing noise you hear in your ears. Masking is one of the usually used methods to manage tinnitus.
When should you wear a masker?
Many cases of tinnitus can be managed effectively without doing anything. Tinnitus is perhaps one of the most benign medical conditions. It only becomes a health problem if it interferes with sleep or causes psychological problems like anxiety and depression. On its own, it’s hardly a problem. Mild tinnitus, which claims a large percentage of tinnitus cases, can be managed even without medical attention. If you have mild tinnitus, you only hear it when the environment or surrounding is too quiet. People with mild ringing ears can go about their daily lives and forget or be unaware they have tinnitus.
Moderate tinnitus may need constant masking. People with moderate tinnitus may hear their ears ringing even in normal conditions, say inside an office or in the living room. With appropriate management, moderate tinnitus does not have to present a serious problem.
Do you need to go to your doctor?
Of course! A lot of people make a mistake of going directly to treatment, skipping the diagnosis. Some cases of tinnitus are caused by treatable disorders. If a doctor finds an infection or allergy to be the cause of your ringing ears, you will be treated appropriately depending on the specific cause.
Masking becomes an option for people who need relief from relentless ringing. When the phantom noise cannot be ignored by unaided habituation, broadband noise therapy ought to help. However, you cannot buy maskers on your own. You need to go to your audiologist to find out if a masker is the appropriate device for you. An audiologist will check your hearing and see if you have sustained hearing loss—because many cases of tinnitus occur with hearing loss.
If you have hearing loss, a hearing aid shall work to amplify your hearing and make tinnitus imperceptible. Hearing aids work like maskers, too, because they increase you awareness of the external noise. That way, the perception of internal noise is diminished to some extent.
When hearing loss is not detected, maskers will be recommended. A tinnitus masking device is not something that can be bought at a drugstore and worn right away. It needs to be adjusted to be fitting to you. First, the perceived intensity and pitch of your tinnitus are determined. Then a masking device will be customized to match the intensity and pitch of your tinnitus. You could get the wrong masker if you just buy from a seller. This is one reason why some patients complain maskers do not seem to work.
What are the advantages of tinnitus maskers?
Maskers work in simple ways. By providing a more pleasant noise for you to tune into, the amount of internal phantom noise heard is decreased to a significant amount. This provides relief for a lot of people who cannot concentrate at work or cannot sleep because of awful ringing inside their ears.
This noise therapy can be modified to include forms of counseling. Tinnitus retraining therapy may include use of white noise, the same kind of therapeutic noise used in masking. The goal is not to cover tinnitus noise but to help the patient cope with it through teaching them how to shift their focus from tinnitus to another sound. Throughout the course of this therapy, the patient is assisted by professional counselors or psychologists.
Masking, on the other hand, works only by keeping tinnitus from your perception. You will not hear tinnitus for as long as the masker is activated. Tinnitus becomes apparent again once the masker is turned off. However, there are reports of people experiencing short term residual inhibition, a period after removal of the masker when the patient does not hear tinnitus at all. Residual inhibition is uncommon though.
Do tinnitus maskers have disadvantages?
Maskers are quite harmless devices. They bring about immediate tinnitus relief. But it seems the effectiveness of masking is so limited as it brings relief only when worn. This makes patients dependent on maskers. Research also suggests that masking may hamper the natural process of habituation.
Doctor’s Advice: When Do Maskers Not Work for Tinnitus?
Masking is one of the most relied upon methods to manage tinnitus. Many times this tinnitus remedy is effective, but sometimes it’s not. Just when do maskers not work for tinnitus?
Generally, a huge population of tinnitus sufferers can take the advantage of wearing maskers. That’s because majority of people with tinnitus only suffer from it to a mild or moderate degree. Simple masking is enough to cover the noise heard inside the ears in these cases. Severe cases of tinnitus may not respond to plain masking. There are also cases of tinnitus that are not well alleviated by pure masking.
When tinnitus ringing in the ears is associated with hearing loss, masking alone will not work satisfactorily. Audiologists prescribe hearing aids in this case. In some cases, a special device that combines a hearing aid and masker is used. Audiologists generally assess the type of tinnitus a patient is suffering from before fitting a masking device. The broadband noise emitted by the masker should be adjusted to match the loudness and pitch of tinnitus perceived.
Vertigo Bouncing Tinnitus: Management Tips
Inner ear disorders produce symptoms of hearing loss, vertigo, bouncing tinnitus, and feeling of fullness in the ears. Many cases of these disorders cannot be treated successfully. Generally, treatment is aimed at helping people manage the symptoms.
Vertigo that is associated with tinnitis may be due to Meniere’s disease or acoustic neuroma. Both conditions affect the inner ears. The former is due to increase of fluid pressure in the inner ears causing periodic bouts of vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss. There is no cure for Meniere’s disease, but the symptoms can be managed through medications. Acoustic neuroma happens when a benign tumor grows on the auditory nerve. This causes tinnitus and hearing loss on the affected ear and also causes vertigo or balance problems.
People with these problems should go to an otolaryngologist to monitor the progress of the symptoms. Surgery is often the last option for inner ear problems like Meniere’s disease and acoustic neuroma. Unless the symptoms become increasingly bothersome, there is no need for dire approaches.
Do no more damage to your ears by staying away from loud noises. Keep your body’s fluid and chemical balance by eating right and taking the right amounts of fluids. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and sodium. Also, watch out for the progress of your symptoms. You should report sudden hearing loss or unrelenting vertigo to your doctor.
Practical Tips on Preventing Hearing Loss
The ear is basically one of the most important parts of our body. Its basic function is for us to distinguish or hear the sounds in our surroundings but aside from that, they also help maintain our bodily balance and positioning. Sadly, like any other body part, the ear is vulnerable to different kinds of diseases and unwanted conditions. That is exactly the reason why we must be aware of the things that can harm ears and destroy our hearing. Perhaps one of the most common ear problems today is hearing loss and it is essential for us to know that there are plenty of things that we can do in preventing hearing loss.
Hearing loss is characterized by the partial or total inability to perceive different sound frequencies. Aside from that, it can also bring about other hearing problems such as tinnitus or the presence of an incessant noise in one or both ears. There are several factors that can cause hearing loss which include aging, the sudden exposure or overexposure to high levels of sounds and ototoxicity. Apart from that, hearing loss can be a hereditary condition which can be passed on from one generation to another. Moreover, diseases like measles, syphilis, mumps, meningitis, aids and otosclerosis can also cause hearing loss.
Hearing loss can be managed however it is an irreversible condition. Some of the approaches for hearing loss include the usage of hearing aids, cochlear implants and gene therapy. But before you have to go through the ordeal of losing your hearing or looking for ways to relieve, you must know there are simple tips that can help you keep your ears in a good condition. They are as follows:
Keep the volume low
At this point in time, personal audio devices like Ipods and Mp3 players have become the latest fad for both young and old. There is no problem in using these devices however if you want to avoid acquiring hearing loss. Make sure to keep the volume low especially if you are using headphones. Moreover, try to minimize the use of mobile phones because they also emit noises that can destroy your hearing.
Stay away from noisy environments
Almost all levels of noise can potentially damage your ears but the ones that are too loud can certainly destroy your hearing. If you do not need to be in places that emit loud noises, then do not go there. These places include disco houses, clubs, airports and factories. Furthermore, don’t expose your ears to the sounds coming from machines or tools like lawn mowers, motorcycles and firearms.
Wear ear protection
Ear protection is very important especially for those whose work requires them to be exposed to high levels of noise. For those who have to work with noisy machineries, make sure to wear the right kinds of ear protection like earmuffs and earplugs. Ear protection need not to be expensive but they can surely save your ears.
Clean your ears properly
It has become a habit for most people to clean their ears with cotton swabs or Q tips. There is really no harm in cleaning your ears and in fact it is part of a good hygiene however there is a better way to do it and that is to ask a professional to clean your ears to avoid pushing and accumulating earwax down your ear canal.
Have a healthy lifestyle
Slight changes in our blood circulation can bring about hearing loss. Aside from saving yourself from serious health conditions caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, by living healthy you will be preventing hearing loss. Engage in healthy activities like sport and exercise, have a good diet and keep away from habits like smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
Have a regular hearing test
It is important to know that hearing loss can be unavoidable at times. Once again, remember that all kinds of noises can damage our ears. What you can actually do is to have regular hearing check up to know if you have already acquired hearing loss and for it to be given the right intervention before it gets worse.
Hearing loss can immensely create big changes in our lives considering that we use our ears to communicate with all the other people in our community. Although, you may be able to find a sort of remedy of hearing loss like hearing aids, there are many things that you can do in protecting your ears and preventing hearing loss. They are not actually very big efforts on your part but simple and logical ones. Be aware of the things that can harm your ears and as much as you can try to avoid them. Do the things that can keep your ears healthy and always bear in mind that the wellness of your ears lies in your hands. So do your share and take very good care of your ears.
How to Cure That Ringing in Your Ears
You probably have been suffering for a while now due to ringing in your ears. You might have been searching for the cure and found nothing. The truth is there is no cure for this condition, medically known as tinnitus. Another truth is that it is virtually harmless. It may be bothersome, but that is the only bad thing about it.
If you want to know how your health is doing, go to your physician to have yourself medically examined. Chances are you are just fine. You probably need to have your hearing checked. Many people with ringing in the ears have hearing loss or other hearing problems. Apart from that, tinnitus is usually not associated by serious disorders.
There are many ways to treat tinnitus, but none of them works absolutely to stop the ringing inside your head, not even a new tinnitus treatment. Masking, cognitive behavior therapy, tinnitus retraining therapy, relaxation, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, homeopathic remedies, Ginkgo biloba, acupuncture, and nutrient supplementation are used to treat tinnitus. Each of them works in distinctive ways.
Ask your doctor before trying any treatment option for tinnitus. This is important especially if you are also taking other medications or undergoing therapies for another condition. Do not hesitate to ask for medical advice whether it is about conventional or natural treatments for tinnitus.
