What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a ringing sensation in the ear that can be described as a variety of sounds such as ringing, buzzing, hissing, clicking, pulsing, or roaring. These sounds do not originate from an external source and can only be perceived by the listener. Tinnitus can either be unilateral or bilateral, with the perception of these sounds varying among individuals depending on the cause.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus can occur due to a variety of reasons such as:
Hearing loss that causes changes in the neural auditory systems, which is perceived as sound by the auditory cortex.
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Impacted ear wax
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8th nerve tumors
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Cholesteatomas that causes unilateral pulsatile tinnitus
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Meniere’s Disease that causes low frequency tinnitus in the affected ear
Evaluation and management
To manage and reduce the sensation of tinnitus, the cause of the condition needs to be addressed. Individuals with hearing loss are often prescribed hearing aids that bring down tinnitus by amplifying external sounds or through tinnitus masking features present within the hearing aid itself.
In case the tinnitus has no concrete origin, an approach called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy can be used, wherein the individual is taught to become habituated to the tinnitus, either by focusing on other sounds to mask the tinnitus and reducing voluntary attention to the tinnitus, or by listening to sounds that are closest to their tinnitus.
