Category: All Things Hearing

Carry- on Tinnitus Step#2

Step #2

Now that you’ve seen the Audiologist or the Hearing Instrument Specialist and they’ve given you a hearing test what is there left to do?

Talk…..

The hearing professional will discuss the results of the hearing test.  You may or may not have hearing loss but you may still suffer from tinnitus.

How is that possible?

Don’t people with hearing loss all have tinnitus?

It is true about 90% of people with tinnitus also have hearing loss and tinnitus affects 1 in 5 people. What about the rest of us?

Let’s work backwards with some basic information about tinnitus.

Tinnitus or some pronounce it tin-eye-tus or tin-a-tus is not a disease but a symptom resulting from a number of causes most common is hearing loss but others are: ear infections, hearing loss, constant exposure to loud noises, brain tumor, emotional stress, exposure to certain medication , head or neck injury, hypertension, heart disease and earwax to name a few.

There are different types of tinnitus: subjective, objective and pulsatile.  Subjective is the most frequent type and it is explained as hearing sound when there is no external sound and it can present itself as ringing, clicking, hissing or buzzing; some people even experience hearing music.

Tinnitus also triggers an emotional response in each individual in unique portions. In other words, tinnitus affects everyone differently and their reactions are all different. Some people can ignore the noise in their ears, whereas others are frustrated and even can be emotionally distraught. No two people are the same.

So where do you go from here?

Counselling is needed and your hearing professional is going to be able to help you with that.

Find out more next week.

If anyone has any questions, please e-mail me.

Until next time…

Ringing in the Ears

Ever heard some buzzing, hissing, ringing or even a chirping sounds in the ear? If your answer is yes, then you may have experienced something called Tinnitus.

Tinnitus pronounced tin-a-tus or tin-eye-tus is a medical term derived from the Latin word “tiniere” which means to ring.  It refers to any sort of sound heard by the individual, but with no external source.

No, you aren’t going crazy but tinnitus can be heard constantly and can cause a great deal of stress, frustration and mental anguish.  Some neuroscientists describe it as “phantom auditory perception” whereas the ordinary folks call it noise.  Noise that can be managed.

Tinnitus is not uncommon. Today in the hearing industry as the number 1 disability for military veterans and it affects 1 in 5 persons.  With or without hearing loss, no matter the age at some point in everyone’s lifetime tinnitus may occur.

There are tons of information on the internet about tinnitus but I will break it down with ease and compassion because I too suffer from tinnitus.

What causes tinnitus?

Can tinnitus be treated?

Where can you go for help?

Stay tuned for my next entry….