Tinnitus is a common auditory phenomenon where individuals perceive sounds like ringing, buzzing, or hissing without any external source. It can affect people of all ages and is associated with factors like loud noise exposure, age-related hearing loss and specific medical conditions. Individuals with tinnitus may experience distress and difficulty concentrating, impacting their overall well-being. Although there is no cure for tinnitus, various management strategies like hearing aids, noise machines, tinnitus retraining therapy and stress reduction techniques can help individuals better cope with and reduce its impact on their daily lives.
Fortunately, the team at Audio Acoustics Hearing Centers can help you get the relief you need. We offer several tinnitus treatment options that can improve your symptoms and help increase your quality of life.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is typically a symptom of an underlying condition. However, tinnitus can be caused by many different things, including:
- Untreated hearing loss
- Buildup of earwax
- Head and neck injuries
- Aging
- Medication
- Exposure to loud noises
- Stress and depression
- Meniere’s disease
- Abnormal bone growth in the ear
- Vascular issues
Our audiologists will evaluate your medical history and conduct a thorough examination to determine the likeliest cause of your tinnitus. After that, we will begin forming a treatment plan to help feel better.
Tinnitus Treatment Options
We offer several tinnitus treatments that may be able to reduce your symptoms. The kind of treatment that’s right for you will vary based on the cause of the condition, its severity and whether you have any co-occurring issues, such as hearing loss. With that in mind, here are three of the most common types of tinnitus treatment and what they entail.
Sound Therapy
Sound therapy is a style of treatment that uses sounds to divert the brain’s attention and reduce the emotional impact of your tinnitus. It’s a form of therapy that can reduce the impact that tinnitus has on your life, but it may not heal you entirely.
Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are another popular treatment for tinnitus. Many modern devices are built with tinnitus-masking features that block out tinnitus sounds and provide long-lasting relief while you wear them.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)
Tinnitus retraining therapy works to retrain the brain so that it perceives your tinnitus differently. It’s similar to sound therapy in that it can help to reduce the emotional impact that tinnitus has on your life. For example, it may help to reduce depression, stress or anger that’s caused by your frustration with tinnitus.
If TRT is recommended, your audiologist will also typically ask you to follow a maintenance plan. This may include ongoing hearing therapies to ensure that your tinnitus has as little of an impact on your life moving forward as possible. Most often, treatments will be used in tandem with one another to ensure the best results.