It’s not unusual for people to have ringing in their ears, also known as tinnitus. It’s one of the most prevalent health conditions in the world with some estimates suggesting that up to 10 percent of the population experiences it at one time or another. The condition manifests as a sound in the ear that isn’t really there, usually, it’s a buzzing or ringing, but tinnitus can manifest as other sounds too.
Unfortunately, the causes of tinnitus aren’t as evident as the symptoms. In part, that’s because tinnitus could be caused by a wide variety of causes, some of which are temporary and others that can be more permanent.
That’s why your environment can be critically important. If the background sound of your particular environment is very loud, you may be harming your hearing. This environmental tinnitus might sometimes be permanent or it might sometimes react to changes to make your environment quieter.
What is tinnitus (and why is it so common)?
Tinnitus is a condition in which you hear a noise that isn’t actually there. Tinnitus normally manifests as a ringing or buzzing, but can also manifest as other sounds, like screeching, thumping, or humming. Usually, the sounds are consistent or rhythmic. Tinnitus will usually clear itself up after a short time period. In less common cases, tinnitus could become effectively permanent, a condition referred to as chronic tinnitus.
There are a couple of reasons why tinnitus is so common. Firstly, environmental factors that can play a role in tinnitus are quite common. Underlying conditions and injuries can bring about tinnitus symptoms and that accounts for the second reason. Put simply, there are lots of such injuries or conditions that can result in tinnitus. As a result, tinnitus tends to be very common.
How is tinnitus affected by environmental factors?
Other things can also cause tinnitus, including ototoxic medications and chemicals. But when it comes to “environmental” triggers, noise is the biggest offender. For example, some locations are louder than others (traffic noise in some areas can get extremely high). Somebody would be at risk of environmental tinnitus, for example, if they worked around loud industrial equipment.
These environmental factors can be incredibly important when considering your hearing health.
Noise induced damage, as with hearing loss, can activate tinnitus symptoms. In these situations, the resulting tinnitus tends to be chronic in nature. Some of the most prevalent noise and environment-related causes of tinnitus include the following:
- Noise in the workplace: It may come as a surprise that lots of workplaces, sometimes even offices, are fairly loud. Whether it’s industrial equipment or chatty office neighbors, spending eight hours a day around continuous workplace noise can eventually lead to tinnitus.
- Events: Tinnitus can sometimes be caused by loud noises, even if they aren’t experienced over a long time-frame. Shooting a gun or going to a rock concert are examples of this kind of noise.
- Traffic: Traffic in densely populated locations can be a lot louder than you might expect it to be. And you may not even recognize that your ears can be damaged at lower volumes than you may expect. Long commutes or consistent driving in these loud settings can eventually cause hearing damage, including tinnitus.
- Music: Many people will often listen to their music at high volumes. Doing this on a consistent basis can frequently trigger tinnitus symptoms.
Damage to the ears can happen at a much lower volume than people usually expect. For this reason, hearing protection should be used at lower volumes than you may expect. Noise induced tinnitus symptoms can often be avoided altogether by doing this.
If I have tinnitus, what should I do?
So, does tinnitus resolve? Well, in some cases it could. In other cases, your symptoms could be irreversible. There’s no way to tell which is which at the outset. Moreover, just because your tinnitus has gone away for now doesn’t mean that noise damage has not happened, resulting in an increased chance of chronic tinnitus in the future.
One of the most significant contributing factors to the advancement of tinnitus is that people tend to underestimate the volume at which damage happens to their ears. If you experience tinnitus, your body is telling you that damage has already probably occurred. If this is the situation, finding and changing the source of the noise damage is crucial to prevent additional damage.
For example, you could try:
- If possible, try to lower environmental volume. For example, you could shut the windows if you live in a noisy area or turn off industrial machinery that is not in use.
- Using hearing protection (either earplugs or earmuffs) in order to counter damage. You can also get some amount of protection from noise canceling headphones.
- Reducing the amount of time you spend in noisy environments without giving your ears a chance to recover.
How to handle your symptoms
Lots of people who experience persistent tinnitus find the symptoms to be tremendously distracting and uncomfortable. This prompts them to try and find a way to ease the intensity of their symptoms.
If you hear a ringing or buzzing sound, it’s essential to make an appointment, particularly if the sound doesn’t go away. We can help you determine the best way to address your specific situation. For most cases of chronic tinnitus, there’s no cure. Symptom management might include the following:
- White noise devices: In some instances, you can tune out some of your tinnitus symptoms by utilizing a white noise generator around your home.
- Masking device: This is a device that fits like a hearing aid and plays sounds that mask your symptoms. The precise calibration of your device will depend on your particular symptoms.
- Relaxation techniques: Tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be aggravated by high blood pressure. So taking some time to relax (with meditation, for example) can sometimes help decrease your tinnitus symptoms.
- Hearing aid: This can help amplify other sounds and, as a result, drown out the ringing or buzzing produced by tinnitus.
- Retraining therapy: In some cases, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, gradually modifying the way you process sound.
There’s no cure for tinnitus. That’s why controlling your environment to protect your hearing is a practical first step.
But treating and controlling tinnitus is possible. Depending on your lifestyle, your hearing, and your tinnitus, we’ll be able to formulate a specific treatment plan for you. A white noise machine, for many individuals, might be all that’s required. In other cases, a more extensive approach might be necessary.
Schedule an appointment to find out how to manage your tinnitus symptoms.
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