What is Tinnitus? Read These Seven Tips
If you are asking “what is tinnitus,” it is a perception of an unpleasant noise emanating inside your ears. It is usually called ringing in the ears. Most of the time, the condition is subjective. Meaning, only you can hear the noise inside your ears. Hence, the noise is called phantom noise.
In usual cases, it is impossible to stop ear ringing, but there are ways to minimize it. Here are some of them:
1. Ignore it. Tinnitus seems to become louder the more you put attention to it.
2. Reduce stress. Research shows that stress worsens an existing tinnitus. De-stressing is important for people with this problem.
3. Relax. It’s hard to relax when your ears are ringing like hell. But appropriate relaxation techniques can be learned for your advantage.
4. Play soft music. Some pleasant sound can help take away your attention from the ugly noise inside your head.
5. Go out. There is nothing more stimulating than inhaling fresh air and listening to nature sounds. Just stop going to noisy disco houses, or you’ll worsen your tinnitus.
6. Have your hearing screened. Tinnitus may be accompanied by hearing loss, so it’s wise to step into a doctor’s clinic to find out if your hearing is declining. You can also ask your doctor for the right tinnitus information which can help you cope with your condition.
7. Smile. You’re not going mad. Tinnitus isn’t supposed to make your life difficult. You’re just fine!
Human Hearing Protection Advice
The incidence of acquired hearing impairment apparently increases by the day. One common cause of hearing impairment in adults is frequent loud noise exposure. Loud noise destroys the delicate cells in the cochlea that transmit signals to the auditory nerve. This results in irreversible hearing loss and other kinds of ear problems like the Meniere’s disease.
This is why one of the most important ways to preserve human hearing is through avoidance of loud noise. Unfortunately, a lot of people do not realize that many noises they expose themselves to are loud enough to cause damage to their delicate ears.
If you have to strain yourself just to be heard by someone in a noisy environment, the noise levels there are probably loud enough to put your ears at risk. Reduce the number of hours you spend at noisy clubs or pubs. At the same time, refrain from going to rock concert venues. If you must, at least do not choose the front row of seats.
Loud music has been blamed for a lot of cases of hearing impairment. Make sure that music players at home and even those you carry around with you are adjusted to emit moderate volumes of sound. Never play music at maximum volumes because the sound often goes beyond the safe limit for human ears. By doing these simple steps, you do not necessarily have to go through the ordeal of looking for a cure for tinnitus, hearing loss, Meniere’s disease or for all the other kinds of unwanted ear conditions.
If your job requires you to stay inside noise-laden room, wear earplugs.
Sensitive Hearing: Diminishing Tolerance to Sound
People have some tolerance limit to sound. At certain intensities, sound becomes intolerable for many. But there are people who suffer from sensitive hearing, and they are unable to withstand even ordinary noise. This hypersensitive hearing disorder occurs with or without hearing loss.
Sensitive hearing arises due to hyperacusis, phonophobia, and misophonia. Hyperacusis is a condition that arises from a shift in the processing of sound. Even average sound levels can trigger abnormal reaction as though excruciating noise is heard. In misophonia, only specific types of noise are disliked. People with misophonia detest some noises, which do not at all cause any reaction to the rest. Extreme aversion to noise is called phonophobia or fear of sound, which occurs in people who believe that any noise will cause damage to their hearing.
Abnormal hearing sensitivity may be selective, in which the affected patients may dislike only certain types, but not all, noises. For instance, clattering of kitchen utensils, scratching of boards or surfaces, creaking of doors, and blowing of car horns can irritate these people. However, they may be able to listen to other sounds, like music, even at higher volumes. A significant number of people with poor sound tolerance have hyperacusis, phonophobia, and misophonia. Hearing sensitivity may not be a product of damage to the inner ears. In many cases, failure of the brain to process sound properly leads to errors in sound perception.
Let us explain the mechanism behind sensitive hearing. As we know, the auditory nerve consists of thirty thousand fibers, which carry information to the brain. No hearing occurs until the impulses reach the conscious part of the brain. The brain does a complex task at such a very short span of time of processing the incoming impulses, filtering unwanted sound and amplifying perception of relevant sound impulses.
In the case of hypersensitive hearing, the brain reacts abnormally to what other people would regard as regular noises. The perceived excruciating noise gives rise to negative emotional reactions. People with hyperacusis or misophonia tend to avoid noises. Then they develop fear of sound or phonophobia. Soon this affects their daily life. They cannot have normal conversations with people. They cannot perform their duties normally. Even small noises can irritate them. Going to public places can become a dreadful thing.
Abnormal hearing sensitivity is caused by several factors. Frequent use of ototoxic medications can cause damage to the tiny delicate structures in the inner ears. Some antibiotics and antihistamines can cause damage to the inner ear in the long run. NSAIDs can cause such damage too. This damage leads to different hearing problems like tinnitus, hearing loss, and hyperacusis. Experts also think that stress is a huge factor in the collapse of hearing tolerance. This is probably because stress stimulates the release of certain chemicals in the body, which affect the ears and the brain. Physical injuries can also lead to damage to the auditory system. For instance, a person who suffered a whiplash may develop abnormal hearing sensitivity. People with malfunctioning brainstems may also have abnormal tolerance to noise and certain sounds. There could be other causes of sensitive hearing, but audiologists cannot possibly identify all causes.
There are different ways to treat hypersensitive hearing, but none of these methods are thought to be very effective. Doctors can prescribe medications to reduce sound intolerance. Some medications are antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, migraine medications, and anti-seizure drugs. Prolonged use of these drugs is not recommended at all because of considerable side effects.
Devices may also be used to counteract hyperacusis and other forms of hearing hypersensitivity. Two common devices are earplugs and tinnitus maskers. Earplugs, however, cannot offer long term benefits because they hinder the process of habituation. For you to be able to adapt to the noises, you should be able to hear them, and earplugs do the opposite. Tinnitus maskers, on the other hand, are designed especially for tinnitus sufferers. Masking devices help people be able to tolerate noise.
Sometimes abnormal hearing sensitivity is dealt with through psychological approaches. Counseling may be done to help patients understand that what they are going through is not threatening at all. A more thorough approach is retraining therapy, in which similar therapy applied to tinnitus sufferers is ordered. It is a combination of psychotherapy and sound therapy. One reason affected people should go to psychologists is to help them cope with depression or anxiety that develops as they suffer from their abnormal hearing.
Surgery becomes an ultimate option, but is only chosen if the patient is suffering from dysfunctional cochlea or severe hearing loss due to physical abnormalities within the hearing system.
There are certain things you should do to keep your suffering at a minimum. Exposure to noise should be avoided, especially loud sound or music, because it could damage your hearing further, leading to worsening case of your hypersensitive hearing. Caffeine and alcohol should be kept away, as they cause disturbances in your blood pressure and body chemistry. Also, avoid substances that trigger migraine; such substances include MSG, chocolate, and aged cheese. Certain medications should be discontinued; ask your doctor regarding safe drugs that are not ototoxic.
How to Prevent High Frequency Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss is usually characterized by loss of hearing at the high frequencies. It occurs because of nerve damage. It can also bring about ringing in the ears. The usual cause of this type of hearing loss in adults is noise. Excessive noise destroys the hair cells in the cochlea, causing permanent damage. High frequency hearing loss characterizes SNHL in most cases. People who no longer hear high frequencies will suffer an inadequacy in their lives because they can’t hear the world normally.
Prevention requires, first, education. A lot of people seemed to have forgotten the basic ways to prevent hearing loss. The most important reminder is to stay away from loud noise to avoid damage to the inner ears. Avoiding loud music and keeping volumes of iPods and portable music players within moderate levels. Wearing earplugs should be imperative for people who are frequently and inevitably exposed to loud sound. Earplugs preclude hearing damage such as ears ringing by lowering the sound input to the ears.
Tips to Prevent Tinnitus in Drummers
Drummers are prone to hearing problems because of exposure to loud sound. Banging the drums during rehearsals and concerts can seriously damage your delicate ears. High decibel sound will destroy the hair cells in the cochlea. This gradual destruction of hair cells will lead to progressive hearing loss and tinnitus or ringing of the ears in drummers. The signs only become obvious once much damage has been done.
What can be done? If you are a professional drummer and musician, then it’s hard to do away with it. But you can prevent early damage to your ears by wearing earplugs or earmuffs. This does not have to make rehearsals difficult because earplugs do not cut off sound completely. They can lower the intensity of sound entering the ears by about 30 decibels. Thus, they make it safer to play drums and other musical instruments during loud rehearsals and concerts.
There are custom made earplugs for musicians, band players, and drummers. They should be worn during gigs. Experts also advice improving the position of speakers during shows to properly disperse sound waves.
One important advice is to have a regular hearing assessment before you look for a hearing loss and tinnitus cure. People who are exposed to hazardous noise levels should go to their audiologists at least once a year to have their hearing checked.
