Ear Ringing, (T)
No matter how tinnitus is called – ear ringing, (T), ear noise, and so on – it remains that haunting sound that can cost you a lot of things. It may cost you your job, your personal relationships, your overall health, and even a normal life. It is because you may hear it day in day out, and it can be so bothersome that your daily activities are impeded.
What is tinnitus about? It is defined as the perception of sound in the ears or head where no external source is present. It is reported to affect around 66 million people in the United States in one way or another. Around 12 million people of this number are severely affected to the extent that living a normal life or functioning normally in the society becomes difficult for them.
Of the medical conditions that cause ringing in the ears, noise-induced cochlear damage is the most common. To be more specific, it is the root cause of around 90% of the cases of tinitus. This says a lot about how noisy our environment has become, how we spend our leisure time listening to loud music, or how we work around very noisy environments without using any ear protection. If you are fond of listening to music and you do not want to damage your cochlea, then remember the rule of 60: have your MP3 player or stereo set to not more than 60% its maximum volume, and limit your listening to music to 60 minutes per day.
Other known causes include stress, sinus problems or allergies, Meniere’s Disease (a leading cause of vertigo), presbycusis or age-associated hearing loss, earwax impaction, head injuries, muscle tension, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and malformation of the capillaries. As the unwanted sound is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, it is strongly recommended that if you experience it, immediately go visit your physician to have its root cause determined with a fair degree of certainty.
There is no cure for ear ringing, (T), or tinnitus. However, remedies are available to manage its effects or even reduce it to ignorable to the extent that it will no longer be a factor in your life. These include alternative treatments in the likes of acupressure, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, meditation, reflexology, relaxation therapy, herbal preparations, and homeopathic tinnitus remedies. Devices like hearing aids and white noise maskers are also being used to make the unwanted sound less noticeable.
Tinnitus Association
With the millions of individuals who are affected by ear ringing, a tinnitus association is deemed necessary. Good thing associations from various countries have built websites that provide information about the condition. Generally, they are nonprofit organizations whose aim is to help millions of sufferers in one way or another.
The American Tinnitus Association (ATA), for instance, encourages research on the condition by awarding researchers with funds to launch their work. While it is not uncommon, it is often misunderstood. Thus, more information about it should be disseminated, and more efforts have to be exerted to find a cure for it, as it can prove to be debilitating to many of its sufferers.
Defined by ATA as “the perception of sound in the ears or head where no external source is present”, tinnitus, known in layman’s term as ringing in the ears, is generally caused by a medical condition. It is often associated with damage in the ears due to noise and old age, but its causes may go beyond that. It may also mark the presence of psychogenic disorders like depression and anxiety and circulatory disorders like hypertension, atherosclerosis, and malformation of the capillaries.
The unwanted sound can come and go and can just be ignored, but there are unfortunate ones that are constantly haunted by it. While it is not life-threatening in itself, its effects can particularly be severe. One of its notable effects is that it can cause a person not to get enough sleep, which has further effects in itself. That person will then get tired and stressed easily the following day, thus increasing the level of the unwanted sound.
In the United States alone, it is estimated that 66 million individuals have been affected by ringing in the ears in one way or another, and 12 million of these people are severely affected by it that they are not able to live their normal lives.
It is ironic, though, because while it is not uncommon, most of its sufferers do not know that such a condition exists until they have been told so by their doctors. Thus, it is where role of a tinnitus association sets in. It should be responsible for educating the public about the condition and providing support to its sufferers. Websites of associations dedicated to providing accurate and reliable information about tinnitus have been made available. Thanks to technology, the condition is slowly gaining public recognition.
