Are You Seeking Tinnitus Relief?

Tinnitus is one of the most common hearing-related problems that we help our patients with at Davis Audiology. Our audiologists are well-versed in what tinnitus is, how it can be treated and also the causes of tinnitus.

Tinnitus is usually described as a subjective sound. This is because you’re the only person that can hear it and people describe it differently. Some call it a ringing sound, others refer to it as buzzing and some may relate it to musical sounds. As a result, it can be difficult to speak about tinnitus because everyone experiences it differently. However, our audiologists have seen thousands of cases of tinnitus and are qualified to help provide you with tinnitus relief.

There are typically a handful of tinnitus treatments that can help you remedy the issue, which is why it’s important to learn more about each and consult with your audiologist about the best one for your particular needs.

Finding the underlying cause of tinnitus and dealing with it

Tinnitus can be caused by a number of different things, so one of the best ways to deal with it is to locate the source of your tinnitus and start by remedying it. Your audiologist will be able to examine your ears and determine if there is an underlying cause such as the following:

• An ear infection such as acute otitis media
• Earwax buildup that causes impacted earwax
• Age-related hearing loss
• Ear damage caused by exposure to loud sounds
• Otosclerosis, an abnormal bone growth condition

If your audiologist picks up any of these conditions, they will recommend some course of treatment that will help you treat it first to see if it can solve your tinnitus. However, do keep in mind that underlying issues might not be the cause of your tinnitus and even if you treat all of your existing conditions, there’s a chance that you will still experience tinnitus even if it’s minor compared to before. The reality is that tinnitus can be caused by multiple problems, so dealing with the underlying issue isn’t a guaranteed way to relieve it.

However, it’s usually a great start to relieving your tinnitus and the initial step that all audiologists take before looking at other options.

Using tinnitus therapy to reduce the effects or remove them entirely

There are multiple forms of therapy that can help you slowly phase out the sounds of tinnitus from your mind. This is a fairly long process that involves multiple appointments with your audiologist, but it’s a common procedure to take if you want a more practical solution to cope with your tinnitus, especially if treating the underlying condition wasn’t as effective as you hoped.

There are two main forms of tinnitus therapy; cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT). These therapies aim to help you cope and train your brain to gradually ignore tinnitus and its effects on your life. It can take a long time for tinnitus therapy to start showing any results, but it’s a fantastic way to relieve the problem without requiring hearing aids.

Hearing aids to provide relief for your hearing loss and tinnitus

Hearing aids are commonly used to help relieve hearing loss, but since hearing loss is also a cause of tinnitus, you can essentially combat two problems with a single solution.

Hearing loss affects the frequencies at which we hear the ringing or buzzing associated with tinnitus, but it also plays background noise into our ear which can effectively mask tinnitus. However, this isn’t a perfect solution and some people will still find that they’re affected by tinnitus. In that case, there are hearing aids that also have sound generating features that will help you mask the sounds of tinnitus.

In addition to these relief treatments, you may also be advised to exercise on a regular basis and also wear hearing protection to prevent your tinnitus from getting worse. Other factors such as stress an excess caffeine intake can also affect your tinnitus, so your audiologist will help you find the right solution to help you not only relieve tinnitus, but also stop it from worsening.

If you’d like to learn more information about tinnitus or want to book an appointment with one of our audiologists, don’t hesitate to contact us. At Davis Audiology, we’re dedicated to helping you solve any hearing-related issues that you may experience in life. Whether it’s diagnosing hearing loss, recommending you a pair of hearing aids or booking you in for a tinnitus relief therapy session, we’re happy to help. Contact us at (864) 810-6238 today to get in touch with one of our friendly representatives.