Tinnitus And Ways To Deal With The Condition

The condition of tinnitus is most often described as a ringing in the ears. Nevertheless, other sounds that are associated with the condition include clicking, hissing, whistling, whooshing and buzzing. The condition can result from many different causes and there are just as many treatments. There are also ways to bring relief to the condition that have been found useful.

The first thing to do will be to have the level of severity ascertained by a competent medical provider. After a proper examination, your doctor may choose one of various treatment options for addressing the specifics of your condition.

There are some tests that will give your doctor a better idea of what you are feeling and experiencing. These will give your medical provider a better idea of how to treat your condition.

Pitch Match Tests – this will help the hearing specialist to determine what is the pitch of the sounds you are hearing. In this test, you will be presented with various tones and you will select the one that best matches the sound you are hearing.

Loudness Match Test – this will help the specialist decide how loud the sounds you are experiencing truly are. This can range anywhere from a whisper to shout. Most often people experience tinnitus as low mumble rather than a roar.

Following are some of the more common treatments for Tinnitus and some information on each one.

Hearing Aids – if your Tinnitus condition is accompanied by mild to severe hearing loss. Your medical practitioner may suggest you wear hearing aids that can actually relieve the condition while in use. Many modern hearing aids include Tinnitus therapy features.

Noise Suppression – many Tinnitus sufferers have found relief and treatment with Tinnitus Masking or noise suppression devices. These devices are a lot like the typical hearing aid yet carry a precision signal or tonal beat that will counteract the sounds of the condition. A hearing specialist will adjust the pitch to match and mask the sounds you are perceiving through certain loudness or pitch matching tests.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) – this form of treatment applies cognitive behavioral and a corrective masking device to help the individual learn to ignore and cope with the ringing in the background.

White Noise – Tinnitus tends to become worse when sitting in a silent room. Many people with Tinnitus have found that placing a free-standing white-noise machine in their room is quite effective in reducing the disturbing sounds.

Other – sometimes the doctors find tinnitus to be the result of another medical condition. In many cases, treating the underlying medical conditions that cause tinnitus is the quickest and surest road to recovery. One common cause is the yellow waxy buildup that can be found in the ears. Removing this can restore an optimal hearing capacity.

Furthermore, tinnitus can be caused by various medical treatments. If you have recently begun a new treatment with medication, talk to the pharmacist or doctor and see if it could be the new meds that are causing the disturbance.

As mentioned, there are many smaller and less common causes of tinnitus and only the qualified examination from a medical practitioner will indicate which is the best treatment for you.

Other Tinnitus Treatments

In addition to the above-mentioned treatments, there are some medications that can bring relief to the condition, even if they couldn’t properly be called a treatment. This includes tricyclic antidepressants, such as nortriptyline or amitriptyline, this is the most common drug prescribed. For those with severe conditions, this is often the only solution.

Nevertheless, this is not the best solution as these medications can also cause blurry vision, heart conditions and dry mouth. It is important to inform the doctor of any other medical conditions before accepting this medication.

Some alternative treatment options include acupuncture, meditation, hypnosis and homeopathy. Studies have shown an impressive success rate from acupuncture therapy, although the best results and complete reversal of tinnitus can’t be expected till the 12th or 15th session.

Homeopathy uses various, herbal, mineral and plant substances to bring relief to this ailment, it has been found effective in some cases. Mostly this aims to treat or at least suppress, the echoing, loud roaring and dull humming related to tinnitus.

In conclusion – you will want to have your condition examined by a qualified doctor before making any assumptions about treatment. Remember that the true cause of the condition can be difficult to truly understand.