Lifestyle Impacts of Tinnitus

If you experience a high-pitched ringing, whirring or buzzing sound in your ears most of the time that only you can hear, chances are you have tinnitus. The National Center for Health Statistics studies estimates that 32% of the US population experiences this condition. Tinnitus can be short-term or permanent, and it is essential to get assessed to find ways to manage or treat it so you can live a normal life. Here are some helpful tips you should know to live a regular life despite having tinnitus.

What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is the sensation of hearing chirping, hissing, buzzing, ringing and whistling sounds that do not originate from an external source. The noise can be continuous or sporadic and can vary in loudness. Tinnitus often worsens when background noise is low, so you will typically be most aware of it at night when trying to sleep in a quiet room. 

In some cases, the sound beats in sync with your heart. This condition can interfere with communication since it is more challenging to hear what others are saying if you have a severe case of tinnitus. Additionally, your concentration, entertainment and sleep can become subpar as a result of experiencing tinnitus.

Tinnitus is typically caused by underlying conditions like ear injuries, heart and blood vessels diseases or age-related hearing loss. Therefore, many people with tinnitus experience significant relief after treating the underlying causes of their tinnitus or embracing other treatments that lower or mask the noise. As such, you can live an everyday life even with this condition.

Using Hearing Aids to Mask Tinnitus

Several people find that tinnitus often accompanies hearing loss since both are affected by ear nerves. As such, using in-the-ear (ITE), behind-the-ear (BTE) or in-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids can help with your hearing loss and tinnitus, offering you a simple way to cope with both conditions and live life normally.

Your audiologist will likely recommend a hearing aid with masking features if diagnosed with tinnitus and hearing loss. If you only experience tinnitus, you can still get hearing aids to enjoy the masking features alone. Hearing aids are the most convenient option for tinnitus if you have hearing loss as well, but they might not be the ideal solution if you have tinnitus alone.

Earwax Removal to Improve Tinnitus

Impacted earwax is one of the most prominent causes of tinnitus resulting from using cotton swabs and other methods to clean your ears in ways that push the earwax deeper into your ear canal. Consequently, your audiologist will check your ears to determine whether earwax removal is the ideal solution to help with tinnitus relief. Your audiologist will likely carry out the procedure using a small vacuum to remove large clumps of earwax that cause excessive pressure in your ears, eliminating the cause of your tinnitus.

Sound Therapy

Sound therapy involves using external sounds to tune out or block the sound of your tinnitus. Masking and habituation are the two different approaches to using sound therapy for tinnitus. Masking involves using sounds to drown out the tinnitus symptoms. For instance, you can use a sound machine to help sleep or relax since these devices produce white noise that can overshadow your tinnitus symptoms. On the other hand, habituation involves using sound and behavioral therapy to retrain your brain to ignore the tinnitus.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)

The sound of your breathing, heartbeat and moving bones are some of the sounds your brain picks up but deliberately ignores. TRT aims to offer a long-lasting solution to people experiencing tinnitus by training their brain to ignore the sounds of tinnitus too. You will likely need several appointments with your audiologist to enjoy the lasting effects of TRT. Therefore, ask your audiologist if they offer TRT as a treatment option for a more permanent solution to deal with the condition.

Stress and Anxiety Management

Stress and anxiety can worsen your tinnitus and create a vicious cycle, so it is crucial to reduce their effects as much as possible. Fortunately, techniques like meditation and deep breathing can help you relax and manage your tinnitus effectively. 

How Gavin Audiology and Hearing Aids Can Help with Tinnitus

We have the cutting-edge tools and technology to offer thorough diagnostic evaluations and hearing aid services to bring tinnitus relief. Also, we treat the underlying cause of your tinnitus and provide management systems for the condition to ensure that you can live a normal life.

Reach out to us today at (914) 610-3440 to learn more about us and get started.