This tinnitus treatment we developed makes use of software that customizes a music-based therapy for each individual tinnitus sufferer. The software achieves this by incorporating a computational model of the “tinnitus brain.” This model captures changes in the auditory brain which may be causing the tinnitus.5,7 We do this by taking into account the individual’s audiogram and a pitch match of their tinnitus, which generates a tinnitus profile unique to him or her. The software then uses the model to predict how each music track can be altered spectrally to reduce tinnitus for that specific tinnitus profile. Delivering the treatment using headphones that could produce high frequencies (above 10–12 kHz) was an integral part of treatment effectiveness. With such headphones, the treatment could work by taking advantage of the same kind of brain plasticity that may contribute to the person's tinnitus in the first place without being limited by a lack of high-frequency sounds.8 By incorporating the latest tinnitus research into our software, we developed a treatment approach that provides greater promise in treating tinnitus than existing treatments with a one-size-fits-all approach.
Many drugs have been studied for treating tinnitus. For some, treatment with low doses of anti-anxiety drugs -- such as Valium or antidepressants such as Elavil -- help reduce tinnitus. The use of a steroid placed into the middle ear along with an anti-anxiety medicine called alprazolam has been shown to be effective for some people. Some small studies have shown that a hormone called misoprostol may be helpful in some cases.
Sound therapy can be effective in treating tinnitus because it may make the tinnitus less noticeable or mask the tinnitus or fade tinnitus. Hearing aids are included as a critical component of a sound therapy program. Modern hearing aids come with a special tinnitus managing sounds along with digital amplification. They are much evolved over the older technology. Different products work in different ways, although most hearing aids can alleviate tinnitus, certain hearing aids have built-in technology specifically for tinnitus relief. At amplifon, we have a clearly defined way to measure and quantify chronic tinnitus. As per the severity of the problem, an appropriate combination of treatment methods is selected to deal with your tinnitus. Amplifon audiologists are specially trained in counselling procedures as well which is another critical element of sound therapy. Consult your Amplifon audiologist to find more details about what suits you to deal with your tinnitus problem.
Medication. Some medications are known to be ototoxic while others list tinnitus as a side effect without causing permanent damage to the ear structures. New medications come out so often that it is difficult to maintain an up to date listing; another option, if you are experiencing tinnitus and are curious if it could be your medication, is to talk to your pharmacist or look up your specific prescriptions online through a website such as www.drugs.com. You should never stop a medication without consulting with your physician, even if you think it may be contributing to your tinnitus.
At Sound Relief Hearing Center, we utilize a variety of evidence-based tinnitus treatment options. Most audiologists only offer one solution, hearing aids, which are ineffective in many cases. To treat each unique case of tinnitus, we utilize a variety of innovative technologies and therapies, including Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT). For more information about your tinnitus treatment options, visit our page Tinnitus Treatment. If you’re worried that you won’t ever escape the ringing in your ears, check out our page Tinnitus Success Stories. Finally, follow our Tips from Tinnitus Experts to avoid exacerbating the problem.
Hearing loss often accompanies tinnitus, so a hearing aid can hit two birds with one stone. In addition to amplifying sound, the device can camouflage the ringing in your ears by boosting other soft sounds in your environment. If you experience hearing loss in addition to your tinnitus, discuss the potential benefits of a hearing aid that may assist with both conditions at the same time.
White Noise Machines. These devices do a great job of simulating the sound of everything from ocean waves, to rain, to a thunder storm, to a crackling fire to an oscillating fan to just plain old static. The result is that your brain focuses on the sounds around you instead of the ringing in your head. You can even download apps on your iPhone that do the same thing so that you can always have a noise machine with you wherever you go. The constant background noise can not only bring back nostalgic feelings of joy, if you used to site around a crackling fire on holidays with your family, but also allow you to forget about your tinnitus.
Patulous Eustachian tubes can be associated with tinnitus. The Eustachian tube is a small canal that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and upper throat. The Eustachian tube normally remains closed. In individuals with a patulous Eustachian tube, the tube is abnormally open. Consequently, talking, chewing, swallowing and other similar actions can cause vibrations directly onto the ear drum. For example, affected individuals may hear blowing sounds that are synchronized with breathing.
Tinnitus matching is helpful to identify the frequency and intensity of the tinnitus. This is a simple procedure in which the audiologist adjusts a sound until a patient indicates that it is the same as their tinnitus. Most patients match their tinnitus to the region of their hearing loss (Konig et al, 2006; Mahboubi et al, 2012). Unfortunately, the "gap detection test", does not work to confirm tinnitus in humabs (Boyen et al, 2015).
With respect to incidence (the table above is about prevalence), Martinez et al (2015) reported that there were 5.4 new cases of tinnitus per 10,000 person-years in England. We don't find this statistic much use as tinnitus is highly prevalent in otherwise normal persons. It seems to us that their study is more about how many persons with tinnitus were detected by the health care system -- and that it is more a study of England's health care system than of tinnitus.
Tinnitus can be triggered by a variety of different causes, and it varies dramatically from person to person. Some of the causes result in permanent tinnitus that may require treatment, while others result in temporary tinnitus that disappears on its own. Common causes of tinnitus include hearing loss, wax buildup, stress, exposure to loud noises, certain disorders, and certain medications. To learn more about the various causes of tinnitus, check out our page What Causes Tinnitus?
There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that some tinnitus is a consequence of neuroplastic alterations in the central auditory pathway. These alterations are assumed to result from a disturbed sensory input, caused by hearing loss.[28] Hearing loss could indeed cause a homeostatic response of neurons in the central auditory system, and therefore cause tinnitus.[29]
There's no known cure for tinnitus. Current treatments generally involve masking the sound or learning to ignore it. A research team led by Dr. Michael Kilgard at the University of Texas at Dallas and Dr. Navzer Engineer at MicroTransponder, Inc. set out to see if they could develop a way to reverse tinnitus by essentially resetting the brain's auditory system. Their work was funded in part by NIH’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
It is possible that the most common cause of pulsatile tinnitus is sigmoid sinus diverticulum and dehiscence, which can be collectively referred to as sinus wall abnormalities or SSWA. The sigmoid sinus is a blood carrying channel on the side of the brain that receives blood from veins within the brain. The blood eventually exits through the internal jugular vein. Sigmoid sinus diverticulum refers to the formation of small sac-like pouches (diverticula) that protrude through the wall of the sigmoid sinus into the mastoid bone behind the ear. Dehiscence refers to absence of part of the bone that surrounds the sigmoid sinus in the mastoid. It is unknown whether these conditions represent different parts of one disease process or spectrum, or whether they are two distinct conditions. These abnormalities cause pressure, blood flow, and noise changes within the sigmoid sinus, which ultimately results in pulsatile tinnitus. Narrowing of the blood vessel that leads into the sigmoid sinus, known as the transverse sinus, has also been associated with pulsatile tinnitus.
Glenn Schweitzer is an entrepreneur, blogger, and the author of Rewiring Tinnitus and Mind over Meniere’s. He is passionate about helping others who suffer from tinnitus and vestibular disorders and volunteers as an Ambassador Board Member for the Vestibular Disorders Association (VEDA). Through his blogs, he continues raise awareness for tinnitus, Meniere’s disease, and other vestibular disorders, spreading his message of hope to those in need.
Being exposed to loud noise on a regular basis from heavy equipment, chain saws or firearms are common causes of hearing loss and tinnitus. Noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus can also be caused by listening to loud music through headphones or attending loud concerts frequently. It is possible to experience short-term tinnitus after seeing a concert, but long-term exposure will cause permanent damage.
Generally, following the initial evaluation, individuals suspected of rhythmic tinnitus will undergo some form of specialized medical imaging. Individuals may undergo high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) or magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to evaluate blood vessel abnormalities such as a vascular malformation that may be the cause of tinnitus. An HRCT scan can also be used to evaluate the temporal bone for sinus wall abnormalities and superior semicircular canal dehiscence. HRCT uses a narrow x-ray beam and advanced computer analysis to create highly detailed images of structures within the body such as blood vessels. An MRA is done with the same equipment use for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce cross-sectional images of particular structures or tissues within the body. An MRA provides detailed information about blood vessels. In some cases, before the scan, an intravenous line is inserted into a vein to release a special dye (contrast). This contrast highlights the blood vessels, thereby enhancing the results of the scan.
Changes in the bones of the middle ear. A person’s ear is made up of several different bones: the malleus, Incus and Stapes. In some individuals, these bones may actually change shape or harden over the years. This process is known as otosclerosis and often runs in the family. This can cause ringing in the ears to begin or, if it has already started, to get worse over time.
High-pitched ringing. Exposure to a very loud noise or a blow to the ear can cause a high-pitched ringing or buzzing that usually goes away after a few hours. However, if there's hearing loss as well, tinnitus may be permanent. Long-term noise exposure, age-related hearing loss or medications can cause a continuous, high-pitched ringing in both ears. Acoustic neuroma can cause continuous, high-pitched ringing in one ear.
Since most persons with tinnitus also have hearing loss, a pure tone hearing test resulting in an audiogram may help diagnose a cause, though some persons with tinnitus do not have hearing loss. An audiogram may also facilitate fitting of a hearing aid in those cases where hearing loss is significant. The pitch of tinnitus is often in the range of the hearing loss.
Tinnitus is characterized by ringing or buzzing in the ears. Exposure to loud noises, earwax blockages, heart or blood vessel issues, prescription medications, and thyroid disorders can all cause tinnitus. See your doctor for an accurate diagnosis, and work with them to develop a treatment plan. In many cases, tinnitus is irreversible, but there are several ways to reduce its severity. For instance, sound generators, hearing aids, and medication can help mask ringing or buzzing. Tinnitus research is a constantly evolving field, and you might be able to try experimental therapies as well.
Try meditation and relaxation techniques. Stress can aggravate tinnitus, so take deep breaths and relax if you start to feel anxious, worried, or overwhelmed. Count to 4 as you breathe in slowly, hold your breath for a 4 count, then count to 4 as you slowly exhale. Continue to control your breathing for 1 to 2 minutes, or until you feel at ease.[10]
Antidepressants. Antidepressants, such as nortriptyline and amitriptyline, have been used as mood enhancers to help someone with tinnitus cope with the life changing implications and complications it brings. However, they are often only prescribed in the most severe of tinnitus cases as they carry some serious side effects that might not make them worth taking for everyone. These include blurred vision, heart problems, dry mouth and constipation.
Tinnitus is when people think they hear something in their ears but there is actually no sound. People with tinnitus actually do "hear" noises that range from a whistle to a crackling noise to a roar. It can happen only occasionally, can occur for a period of days then take a break before recurring again, or it can be constant. The sound can vary in pitch from quiet to unbearably loud, or it can stay the same.
Although there’s no proven cure for tinnitus, there are treatments that help make it easier to ignore. For example, you can wear devices in your ear(s) that produce soothing therapeutic noises to shift your focus away from the tinnitus. Other devices produce constant, soft noise to mask the tinnitus. Tinnitus sufferers who also have hearing loss sometimes find relief simply by wearing properly fitted hearing aids.
