Tinnitus – What Is It and How Do You Treat It?

A build-up of earwax or earwax impaction
Diabetes-related sensorineural hearing loss
Ototoxic (toxic to the ear) medications
Thyroid conditions, fibromyalgia, or Lyme disease
Meniere’s disease—a disorder of the inner ear
Jaw misalignment, head and neck trauma, or strained neck muscles due to arthritis or TMJ
Acoustic neuroma—a tumor that develops in the vestibular cochlear nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain
Problems with blood flow in arteries of the head or neck
Smoking cigarettes
Cardiovascular diseases
Hypertension

Who Is Most at Risk for Tinnitus?

Generally speaking, men are at greater risk of experiencing tinnitus than women. Experts attribute this tendency based on men’s greater exposure to what is called high-risk hearing behavior. Hunting, shooting, recreational vehicles and working in high-noise environments like manufacturing and construction can also be associated with the effects of tinnitus.

Of course, this does not mean that women or children are not at risk to experience tinnitus. Anyone subjected to loud noise exposure, ear trauma and other high-risk factors might also experience tinnitus.

The Connection Between Tinnitus and Hearing Loss

Most people (about 90%) who suffer from tinnitus suffer from hearing loss, as well. Someone may not even notice that they are experiencing hearing loss until they experience tinnitus. Tinnitus does not cause hearing loss—it is a symptom of it.

Tinnitus usually follows a pattern of hearing loss, meaning if you have trouble hearing high frequencies, your tinnitus is usually a high-pitched ringing or hissing. If you have tinnitus in only one ear, you usually only have hearing loss in that ear.

Exposure to loud noises can temporarily cause hearing loss and/or tinnitus. Ever attended a loud concert only to get back to your car and have trouble hearing the friends who went with you? Or experience a ringing in your ears after watching a fireworks show up close? Most often, hearing loss from this type of exposure is accompanied by tinnitus.

Many of today’s hearing aids also come with either built-in or accessory-based features that include options for treating the effects of tinnitus. These methods tend to use white noise or other sound-based methods that essentially mask the more distracting or distressing sounds of tinnitus that can cause people so much stress.