You know that ringing sound in your ear? That ringing, buzzing, or whooshing sound only you can hear and others don’t. It’s called tinnitus and that sound does not come from any outside source but from somewhere inside your head.
Tinnitus is an ear health issue that is very usual particularly among older adults. It is depicted as a continuous or sporadic ringing sound heard in either ear or in both. The sound can differ in volume and intensity. For some, their tinnitus is severe that it affects their daily life and quality of living to a great extent as the irritating sound makes it awfully difficult for them to focus on work and other everyday tasks, get adequate and quality sleep as well as have and join in conversations.
Diagnosing and giving medical treatment to tinnitus can be a challenge for healthcare providers. To diagnose the condition of a person, healthcare providers based it on the symptoms they exhibit. For tinnitus to be treated, they will have to zero in on what exactly prompted the tinnitus to occur. This is because tinnitus is not a medical condition of its own, but rather a symptom of a diagnosis, an indication that there is a latent condition that needs to found, identified and treated. It can be possible that if the underlying problem is cured, tinnitus can be treated as well.
Unfortunately, in nearly all chronic tinnitus cases, doctors are unsuccessful at identifying the exact underlying cause of the tinnitus. Up to date, there are no clinically proven and supported medical treatments to cure tinnitus. Nonetheless, there are tinnitus therapies and remedies that can significantly help ease and manage the symptoms and its effects.
Is My Tinnitus Going Away? Will It Ever Go Away?
Is my tinnitus going away? How long will it take for it to go away? Will it ever go away? Health providers cannot give the exact answers to these questions given the fact that they themselves were not successful at identifying what sets off tinnitus or even why tinnitus happen. But, to know how long will your tinnitus last, if your tinnitus will go away or if it will ever go away, you will have to find out if it is temporary or permanent, and the best way to find out is to recognize and understand what is triggering it. There are potential factors that bring about tinnitus, some are common whereas others are lesser-known. Among the risk factors of tinnitus includes:
- EXCESS EARWAX. Earwax buildup in the outer ear may induce that ringing sound. Your doctor can flush away the wax to remove the ringing.
- MEDICATIONS. Some medications may have an effect on your hearing. Certain antidepressants, antibiotics, high doses of aspirin as well as chemotherapy medications may incite tinnitus. Discuss with your healthcare provider about this.
- DENTAL CONCERNS. At times, tinnitus can be because of your teeth or jaw. For instance, temporomandibular joint (TMD) disorder could cause a clicking sound or a popping noise in the joint of the jaw. If you experience tinnitus after a recent dental work, return to your dentist.
- HEAD INJURY. An injury in the head, neck, jaw or ear can cause tinnitus. To begin with, the brain is located in the head and it processes the bulk of the sounds received by the ear. If it is impaired because of a recent injury or bump to the head, this can result in tinnitus.
- HEARING LOSS. Hearing loss comes with age. When this occurs, tinnitus symptoms become more perceptible as they aren’t muffled by external sounds.
- EAR INFECTIONS OR PERFORATED EARDRUM. Ear infections can create an blockage or congest the ear and damage the eardrum. Even over or constant exposure to loud noises or sounds can harm the eardrum as well and cause tinnitus.