Tinnitus (pronounced tin’-ih-tuss, or, tih-nite’-us) is the name for a ringing, buzzing, or whistling sound some people can hear. The sound may come and go, may vary in pitch and intensity, and can be in one or both ears. Usually only the person experiencing it can hear it. Sometimes it sounds like it might be coming from the environment, but if the person plugs their ears, the sound doesn’t change.
Causes of tinnitus
- Loss of sensory cells (noise damage, medications, age)
- Middle ear infections
- Otosclerosis
- Muscle spasms
- Lesions on or near the hearing centre of the brain
- Sometimes the cause is unknown
Tinnitus may be caused by parts of the hearing system and issues affecting the inner ear. These include middle ear infections, otosclerosis (hardening of the tiny ear bones), muscle spasms in the ear muscles (rare), and loss of the tiny sensory cells in the inner ear that can be caused by noise damage, medications and age. Head trauma or diseases causing lesions on the brain near the hearing centre, can also cause tinnitus. And sometimes the cause is just unknown.
In many cases there is no cure for tinnitus, such as when there’s been a loss of sensory cells. These cells don’t grow back. This is why it’s important to protect your hearing when exposed to excessive noise. However there are still things you can do to manage tinnitus.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) is the most effective treatment for most conditions of tinnitus. TRT reprogrammes the auditory system to be less reactive to tinnitus, reducing awareness of it to the background. In other words, it trains your brain to pay less attention to it.
Clients attending a hearing clinic for TRT report improvements in as little as 6-8 weeks. After 16-24 months, 80% of those who follow the programme successfully habituate to tinnitus to a significant degree.
Puretone Hearing Clinic offers TRT for those experiencing tinnitus. Our audiologist will work with you so you can naturally develop the tools to gain control over your tinnitus and significantly improve your quality of life. Contact us to find out more.