Tinnitus is a prevalent auditory condition where individuals perceive sounds such as ringing, buzzing, or hissing without any external source. It can affect people of all ages and is often associated with factors like exposure to loud noise, age-related hearing loss, and specific medical conditions. Those with tinnitus may experience distress and difficulty concentrating, impacting their overall well-being.
Although there is no cure for tinnitus, the team at Ashbrook Audiology offers various management strategies to reduce its impact on everyday activities and improve your overall quality of life.
Addressing the Cause
Tinnitus is often a symptom of an underlying condition. Its severity and the way it impacts your life can vary based on what’s causing your tinnitus. For example, this issue can be the result of:
- Hearing loss
- Vascular disorders
- Stress and depression
- Earwax blockage
- Exposure to loud noises
- Head and neck injuries
- Meniere’s disease
- Abnormal bone growth in the ear
The first step in improving your tinnitus is assessing which of these conditions is causing it. To do that, your hearing professionals will evaluate your medical history and lifestyle and then complete a few simple tests.
Common Tinnitus Treatments
Once we know what’s causing your tinnitus, we can start treating it. There’s no 100% cure for tinnitus yet, but you can drastically reduce how much it impacts your life with proper care. Here are three of the most common treatments we use for tinnitus:
Hearing Aids
It’s also common to use hearing aids to treat tinnitus. Many modern hearing support devices come equipped with tinnitus-masking features. These help you block out the annoying noise and provide much-needed relief. These devices can be a treatment option for tinnitus even if you’re not experiencing any hearing loss. We carry low-profile hearing aids that others can hardly notice if you’re concerned.
Sound Therapy
Sound therapy (also sometimes called acoustic therapy) uses external sounds to draw the brain’s attention away from the tinnitus. This essentially trains your brain to not pay close attention to the sounds, which can make it feel like it’s having a much smaller impact on your life.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)
Finally, we also offer tinnitus retraining therapy or TRT. This is similar to sound therapy in that it attempts to retrain the brain so that it stops perceiving your tinnitus in a damaging way. It can be helpful to complete behavioral therapy while we work on your tinnitus, too. This helps people struggling with the impact of tinnitus deal with some of the emotions around it, like depression, stress and anger.
We may suggest using some of the treatments with each other for the best overall results. The goal is to help you maintain your quality of life through proper relief and treatment methods.