What Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a condition that is commonly found on both the young and old. But what is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the perception of a ringing sound in the ears that can be heard only by the person experiencing the tinnitus. This means there is no actual sound in the environment that can cause the person to hear such sounds.
No, you are not crazy!
This does not mean that the person is getting crazy just because the noises are not heard by the other people around. This is because the noises are coming from the brain.
Tinnitus happens in the absence of sound signals from the ears simply because there is partial or complete hearing loss. When this happens the brain looks for sound signals coming from the ears but there are no sound signals so the brain is confused and in the process is able to create its own sound which is then interpreted as tinnitus sounds. Many people misinterpret tinnitus as a disease.
If tinnitus is not a disease, then what is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a symptom. It is a symptom of a medical condition that involves the ears and the head. So when a person has tinnitus it is imperative to have the ears and head checked for any problems. It is important to have the cause identified because this is a vital part for the treatment of the tinnitus. Possible causes of tinnitus are ear wax impaction, exposure to loud noises, ear infection, tumors, ototoxic drugs, meniere's disease, and lyme disease.
Some people develop more earwax than others and this causes blockage in the auditory canal. Ear wax removal must be done by a physician to avoid damaging the ears. Improper ear wax removal may cause damage to the ear drums and lead to irreversible hearing loss.
Constant exposure of the ears to loud noises can cause damage to the hair cells and will also lead to an irreversible hearing loss. There are some medications that can cause toxicity to the ears and eventually lead to hearing loss and imbalance. These are known as ototoxic drugs and there are about 200 drugs that have been identified as ototoxic.
Treatment of the causes of tinnitus means treating the symptom tinnitus. But we must understand that there is no such thing as a form of medication or cure that will put an end to all types of tinnitus. There are available remedies for tinnitus but it takes patience on the part of the patient. It is my hope that after reading this information the reader has understood what is tinnitus.
