Tinnitus in the medical name; It is a condition that can seriously reduce people's quality of life. The causes of tinnitus are described as sizzling, humming, and hearing sounds similar to water noise.
What is Tinnitus?
Almost 10% of people may experience tinnitus at some point in their lives.
Tinnitus can be intermittent or continuous. The pitch of the voice can be deep or very thin, and it can affect one ear or both. When tinnitus is continuous, it can disturb the person very much.
This discomfort can even go up to the extent that it affects people's normal lives. Tinnitus is mainly divided into two as objective and subjective. Objective tinnitus; It is a condition in which not only the sick person but also others hear these sounds. Subjective tinnitus; on the other hand, sounds are perceived only by the patient.
What are the Causes of Tinnitus?
There are many possible causes of tinnitus. These causes may be simple and benign, or they may be more serious. Common causes can be listed as follows;
- Damage in the auditory nerve endings in the inner ear,
- Ear wax,
- Problems in the eardrum,
- Ear infections,
- Allergic rhinitis,
- Sinusitis,
- Trauma in the ear area,
- Fluid accumulation in the middle ear,
- Hardening of the joints of the bones in the middle ear,
- Tightening of the muscles in the middle ear,
- Expansion of the Eustachian tube (may be due to pregnancy or weight loss),
- Middle arterial anomalies in the ear,
- Vascular enlargement in the head and neck region,
- Tumor in the nerves that provide balance and hearing (acoustic neuroma),
- Allergy,
- Low or high blood pressure,
- Blows to the head and neck region,
- Neck calcification,
- Some drugs (such as rheumatism drugs, antibiotics),
- Diabetes
- Thyroid diseases
Today, another most common cause of tinnitus is loud noise. Unfortunately one� Many people are either unaware or do not care about how harmful industrial noise, fire alarms, loud music and other noises are. Listening to loud music with stereo headphones increases the risk even more. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor if you are experiencing tinnitus. Also, the treatment for each condition is very different. For this reason, it is very important to check with a specialist doctor and find out the true cause of tinnitus.
How to Treat Tinnitus?
There is no specific treatment in most cases of tinnitus. Treatment can be provided by finding and eliminating the cause of tinnitus. In this, some x-rays and balance tests may be needed.
However, despite all the tests, the cause of tinnitus may not be found.
There are also some drugs used in the treatment of tinnitus. Although these drugs provide relief, they may not be sufficient for complete treatment.
What Can Be Done to Reduce Tinnitus?
There are some suggestions that you should or should not do to help reduce tinnitus.
- Avoid exposure to loud music.
- Keep your blood pressure under control.
- Restrict your salt intake (too much salt will disrupt your circulatory system).
- Avoid salty foods and do not add salt to your food.
- Be careful to stay away from coffee, cola and cigarettes, which have a stimulating effect on the nervous system.
- Keep your blood circulation in balance with daily exercises.
- Get enough rest and avoid getting too tired.
- Don't worry about the noise. Your tinnitus does not make you deaf or lose your mind. Accept these sounds as a disturbing but insignificant fact and learn to ignore them as much as possible. This type of control can be achieved either by self-advocacy or by masking.
- Try to stay away from stress, irritability and tension.
Tinnitus Masking What? is taking. A sound that can compete with tinnitus (such as the ticking of the clock, radio) can help reduce the discomfort.
Some doctors recommend listening to FM channels at low volume. Many patients stated that they find it beneficial to listen to the sound of the radio that is not tuned between two stations at a low volume. Such a static sound can be very relaxing. This sound is known as white noise.
Some patients use electronic devices that produce soothing sounds. These instruments are a small electronic part that is built into or added to the hearing aid. It aims to suppress the tinnitus of the person by producing a continuous but not disturbing sound, so that the tinnitus is not distinguished.
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