Did you know?

About 1 in 3 Australians will suffer from tinnitus in their life time and 1 in 6 Australians suffer with tinnitus constantly. People with tinnitus experience sounds that aren’t actually there.

Tinnitus is sometimes known as a ‘ringing in the ears’, but if you have the condition, you may hear humming, hissing, whistling, clicking, roaring, whooshing or buzzing sounds. The noise can be faint or loud, and it can occur in one or both ears. 

Tinnitus can come and go, or you might experience it all the time. Some people find their tinnitus is an irritation they can learn to live with. For others, it can be very distressing.

There are 2 main types of tinnitus:

  • subjective tinnitus, which only you can hear – this is the most common type
  • objective tinnitus, which a doctor can hear when they examine your ears – this can be caused by a problem with your blood vessels, or with the bones or muscles in your ear

What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus may occur when there is a problem with the auditory (or hearing) system, which is made up of your ears and parts of your brain.

It is more common in people who have some hearing loss or other ear problem, but it can also occur in people who have normal hearing. 

How is tinnitus treated?

There is no cure for tinnitus, but fortunately, it can be managed. There are specific hearing aid programmes designed to drown out the sound of tinnitus. Hearing aids with this tinnitus feature augment the volume of external noise to the point that it masks the sound of tinnitus. This makes it more difficult to consciously perceive tinnitus and helps the brain focus on outside, ambient noises. The masking impact of hearing aids is particularly strong for patients who have hearing loss in the same frequency range as their tinnitus.

To find out more about tinnitus management book in for a free tinnitus consultation at one of our several locations or give our head office a call on and (08) 9375 9977

Sources:

Australian Journal of General Practice (A review of tinnitus), Hearing Australia (Everything you need to know about tinnitus), Action for Hearing Loss (UK) fact sheet (Pulsatile tinnitus), Tinnitus SA (What is tinnitus?), British Tinnitus Association (What is tinnitus?), American Tinnitus Association (Managing your Tinnitus) 

Please book a hearing assessment on (08) 9375 9977 to discuss strategies to cope up with tinnitus.