There seems to be a two-way-street relationship between tinnitus and sleep problems. The symptoms of tinnitus can interfere with sleeping well—and poor sleep can make tinnitus more aggravating and difficult to manage effectively. In the same study that found a majority of people with tinnitus had a sleep disorder, the scientists also found that the presence of sleep disorders made tinnitus more disruptive.
Most people who suffer from tinnitus also experience hearing loss to some degree. As they often accompany one another, the two conditions may be correlated. In fact, some researchers believe that subjective tinnitus can only occur if the auditory system has been previously damaged (source). The loss of certain sound frequencies due to hearing loss may change how the brain processes sound, causing it to adapt and fill in the gaps with tinnitus. The underlying hearing loss typically results from exposure to loud noises or advanced age:
Tinnitus retraining therapy is a form of treatment that tries to retrain the nerve pathways associated with hearing that may allow the brain to get used to the abnormal sounds. Habituation allows the brain to ignore the tinnitus noise signal, and it allows the person to become unaware that it is present unless they specifically concentrate on the noise. This treatment involves counseling and wearing a sound generator. Audiologists and otolaryngologists often work together in offering this treatment.
Tinnitus affects every layer of society, and there has been increasing support for awareness. Recently, musicians who are affected by tinnitus have come together to create awareness for the disorder. Artists including Chris Martin of Coldplay and Black Eyed Peas have created a compilation album to help raise funds towards finding a cure for tinnitus. In the United States, the Department of Defense has invested millions of dollars into investigations of tinnitus sound therapies. In addition, the American Tinnitus Association makes efforts to lobby the US government to provide support for tinnitus sufferers.
Unfortunately that means tinnitus is a very complicated condition that involves several systems of the body. The good news, though, is that as doctors and researchers have developed a better understanding of the mechanisms behind tinnitus, they’ve also been able to develop new and promising treatments that target the brain rather than the ear — and have more of a chance of actually reversing the problem.
The degree of loudness or annoyance caused by tinnitus varies greatly from one individual to another. Loudness and annoyance do not always covary. An individual with loud tinnitus may not be troubled, while an individual with soft tinnitus may be debilitated. Most individuals with subjective tinnitus have hearing loss that shows up in a standard clinical audiogram. Tinnitus can sometimes worsen or sometimes improve over time.
Tinnitus is commonly thought of as a symptom of adulthood, and is often overlooked in children. Children with hearing loss have a high incidence of tinnitus, even though they do not express the condition or its effect on their lives.[100] Children do not generally report tinnitus spontaneously and their complaints may not be taken seriously.[101] Among those children who do complain of tinnitus, there is an increased likelihood of associated otological or neurological pathology such as migraine, juvenile Meniere’s disease or chronic suppurative otitis media.[102] Its reported prevalence varies from 12% to 36% in children with normal hearing thresholds and up to 66% in children with a hearing loss and approximately 3–10% of children have been reported to be troubled by tinnitus.[103]
The researchers point out that up to one in five adults will develop tinnitus, a distressing disorder in which people hear buzzing, ringing and other sounds from no external source. Tinnitus can occur in one or both ears, and is usually continuous but can fluctuate. A randomised controlled trial is the best way of assessing the effectiveness of an intervention.
Pulsatile tinnitus is a rare type of tinnitus that sounds like a rhythmic pulsing in the ear, usually in time with your heartbeat. A doctor may be able to hear it by pressing a stethoscope against your neck or by placing a tiny microphone inside the ear canal. This kind of tinnitus is most often caused by problems with blood flow in the head or neck. Pulsatile tinnitus also may be caused by brain tumors or abnormalities in brain structure.
Tinnitus (pronounced ti-nə-təs or tə-nī-təs) is the conscious awareness of a sound in your ears or head not caused by an external noise. Too often associated with hearing loss, the fact is more than 50 percent of people living with tinnitus don’t have measurable hearing loss. Since there are many causes, tinnitus can be associated with a variety of health problems.
Tinnitus Control contains both a spray that is administered under the tongue three times a day and a gelatin capsule that is to be taken twice a day. Each package comes with a one month’s supply of the spray (1 fluid ounce) and capsules (60 capsules). Tinnitus Control is not currently available in local stores such as CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid, but it is available directly from the manufacturer’s website at http://www.tinnituscontrol.com
Addressing Any TMJ Disorders. A small percentage of people will experience tinnitus if they are having problems with their temporomandibular joint. This joint is located in front of the ears, on each side of the head, where the lower jawbone meets the skull. In these rare cases, a dental treatment or bite realignment may relieve you of the ringing you hear in your ears.
Some people experience a sound that beats in time with their pulse, known as pulsatile tinnitus or vascular tinnitus.[40] Pulsatile tinnitus is usually objective in nature, resulting from altered blood flow, increased blood turbulence near the ear, such as from atherosclerosis or venous hum,[41] but it can also arise as a subjective phenomenon from an increased awareness of blood flow in the ear.[40] Rarely, pulsatile tinnitus may be a symptom of potentially life-threatening conditions such as carotid artery aneurysm[42] or carotid artery dissection.[43] Pulsatile tinnitus may also indicate vasculitis, or more specifically, giant cell arteritis. Pulsatile tinnitus may also be an indication of idiopathic intracranial hypertension.[44] Pulsatile tinnitus can be a symptom of intracranial vascular abnormalities and should be evaluated for irregular noises of blood flow (bruits).[45]
All materials posted on the ATA website are subject to copyright owned by the American Tinnitus Association (ATA). No part of these pages, either text, file or image may be used for any purpose other than personal use. Any reproduction, retransmissions, republication, storage in a retrieval system or retransmission, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. Submit our contact form for general inquiries.
