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Tinnitus

Tinnitus
Tinnitus("TINatus"or"TinEYEtus")refersto"ringingintheears"whennoothersoundispresent.Tinnitus
cansoundlikehissing,roaring,pulsing,whooshing,chirping,whistling,orclicking.
Tinnituscanoccurinoneearorbothears.Belowaresome
commonlyaskedquestionsabouttinnitus.

TinnitusInfographic[PDF]
TinnitusManagement

Istinnitusacommonproblem?
Yes.Almosteveryoneatonetimeoranotherhasexperiencedbriefperiodsofmildringingorothersoundsin
theear.Somepeoplehavemoreannoyingandconstanttypesoftinnitus.Onethirdofalladultsexperience
tinnitusatsometimeintheirlives.About10%15%ofadultshaveprolongedtinnitusrequiringmedical
evaluation.Theexactcauseoftinnitusisoftennotknown.Onethingiscertain:Tinnitusisnotimaginary.

Istinnitusadisease?
No.Justasfeverorheadacheaccompaniesmanydifferentillnesses,tinnitusisa
symptomcommontomanyproblems.Ifyouhavetinnitus,chancesarethecause
willremainamystery.

Whatcausestinnitus?
Conditionsthatmightcausetinnitusinclude:
Hearingloss
Mnire'sdisease
Loudnoiseexposure
Migraineheadaches
Headinjury
Drugsormedicinesthataretoxictohearing
Anemia
Hypertension
Stress
Toomuchwaxintheear
Certaintypesoftumors
Toomuchcoffee
Smokingcigarettes

Moreinformationon
thistopiccanbe
foundinour
Audiology
InformationSeries
[PDF].

Whyismytinnitusworseatnight?
Duringtheday,thedistractionsofactivitiesandthesoundsaroundyoumakeyourtinnituslessnoticeable.
Whenyoursurroundingsarequiet,yourtinnituscanseemlouderandmorebothersome.Fatigueandstress
mayalsomakeyourtinnitusworse.

Howisthecauseoftinnitusdiagnosed?

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Tinnitus

Tinnitusisasymptomofaproblem.Thefirstthingyoushoulddoistotrytofindouttheunderlyingcause.You
shouldhaveamedicalexaminationwithspecialattentiongiventoconditionsassociatedwithtinnitus.You
shouldalsoreceiveafullhearingevaluationbyanaudiologisttoseeifhearinglossmaybecausingyour
tinnitus.

ShouldIseeanaudiologist?
YourhearingshouldbetestedbyanaudiologistcertifiedbyASHAtoseeifhearinglossispresent.Since
tinnituscanbeassociatedwithanumberofhearingrelatedconditions,thehearing(audiologic)evaluationcan
helpprovideinformationaboutthecauseandtreatmentoptionsforyou.

Cantinnitusactuallybemeasured?
Tinnituscannotbemeasureddirectly.Theaudiologistreliesoninformationyouprovideindescribingyour
tinnitus.Theaudiologistwillaskyouquestionssuchas:
Whichearisinvolved?Rightleftboth?
Istheringingconstant?
Doyounoticeitmoreatcertaintimesofthedayornight?
Canyoudescribethesoundortheringing?
Doesthesoundhaveapitchtoit?Highpitchlowpitch?
Howlouddoesitseem?Doesitseemloudorsoft?
Doesthesoundchangeinvolumeorpitchovertime?
Doyounoticeconditionsthatmakethetinnitusworsesuchaswhendrinkingcaffeinatedbeverages,
whentakingparticularmedicines,orafterexposuretonoise?
Doesthetinnitusaffectyoursleepyourworkyourabilitytoconcentrate?
Howannoyingisit?Extremelysoornotterriblybothersome?
Indiscussingyouranswerstothesequestions,theaudiologistcangiveyouinformationthatwillincreaseyour
understandingofyourtinnitus.
Knowingmoreaboutthecauseofyourtinnituscanbeagreatrelief.Whenthepossiblecauseofyourtinnitusis
understood,yourstresslevel(whichcanmaketinnitusworse)isfrequentlyreduced.Youcan"takecharge"by
anticipating,preventing,andchangingsituationsthatmakeyourtinnitusworse.

Howistinnitustreated?
Themosteffectivetreatmentfortinnitusistoeliminatetheunderlyingcause.Tinnitus,insomecases,canbea
symptomofatreatablemedicalcondition.Unfortunately,inmanycases,thecauseoftinnituscannotbe
identified,ormedicalorsurgicaltreatmentisnotanoption.Inthesecases,thetinnituscanstillbemanaged
usingavarietyofothermethods.Besuretodiscusswithyourdoctoranymedicaltreatmentoptionsbefore
consideringtinnitusmanagement.
Tinnitusmanagementcaninclude:
Biofeedback
Hypnosis
Electricalstimulation
Relaxationtherapy
Counseling
Habituationtherapies
Tinnitusmaskers
Soundmachines

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Audiologistsandotolaryngologists(ear,nose,andthroatdoctors,orENTs)routinelycollaborateinidentifying
thecauseoftinnitusandprovidingtreatmentandmanagement.Atreatmentthatisusefulandsuccessfulfor
onepersonmaynotbeappropriateforanother.
TheAmericanTinnitusAssociation(ATA)hasinformationonvarioustreatmentoptions.

Willahearingaidhelpmytinnitus?
Ifyouhaveahearingloss,thereisagoodchancethatahearingaidwillbothrelieveyourtinnitusandhelpyou
hear.YourASHAcertifiedaudiologistcanassistwiththeselection,fitting,andpurchaseofthemost
appropriatehearingaidsforyou.Youraudiologistwillalsohelpyoulearnhowtogetthebestuseoutofyour
hearingaids.

Whatisatinnitusmasker?
Tinnitusmaskerslooklikehearingaidsandproducesoundsthat"mask,"orcoverup,thetinnitus.The
maskingsoundactsasadistracterandisusuallymoretolerablethanthetinnitus.
Thecharacteristicsofthetinnitus(pitch,loudness,location,etc.)thatyoudescribefortheaudiologist
determinewhatkindofmaskingnoisemightbringrelief.Ifyouhaveahearinglossaswellastinnitus,the
maskerandthehearingaidmayoperatetogetherasoneinstrument.
Likeallothertreatmentsfortinnitus,maskersareusefulforsome,butnotallpeople.Aswithahearingaid,a
carefulevaluationbyanaudiologistwillhelpdecidewhetheratinnitusmaskerwillhelpyou.

Arethereotherdevicesthatcanhelpme?
Soundmachinesthatprovideasteadybackgroundofcomfortingnoisecanbeusefulatnightorinaquiet
environment.Fishtanks,fans,lowvolumemusic,andindoorwaterfallscanalsobehelpful.Todaythereare
evenapplicationsforportablemediaplayers(iPodorMP3players)thatofferavarietyofmaskingsoundsthat
mayreducetheannoyanceoftinnitus.

ShouldIjoinaselfhelpgroup?
Tinnituscanbestressfulbecauseitcanbedifficulttodescribe,predict,andmanage.Selfhelpgroupsare
availableinmanycommunitiesforsharinginformationandcopingstrategiesforlivingwithtinnitus.
Oftenaselfhelpgrouppromotesfeelingsofhopeandcontrol.Membersofthegroupsharestrategiesthey
havefoundsuccessfulindealingwiththeirtinnitus.Itcanhelptobereassuredthatyoudonothavearare
diseaseorseriousbraindisorderorarenotgoingdeaf.Withsupport,peoplewithtinnitususuallyfindthatthey
cancopewiththeirtinnitus.
Youraudiologistcanconnectyouwithaselfhelpgroupinyourarea.Foradditionalinformationorhelpinfinding
agroupnearyou,contacttheAmericanTinnitusAssociation(ATA).

19972016AmericanSpeechLanguageHearingAssociation

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