Tinnitus is an incredibly common condition of the ear. Some estimates indicate that 10 percent of people experience tinnitus at one time or another, making it one of the most common health conditions in the world. The condition manifests as a sound in the ear that isn’t really there, usually, it’s a buzzing or ringing, but tinnitus can take the form of other sounds as well.
Sadly, the causes of tinnitus aren’t as evident as the symptoms. In part, that’s because tinnitus may result from a wide range of causes, some of which are temporary and others that can be more permanent.
This is why environmental factors can play a major role in tinnitus symptoms. If the background sound of your particular environment is very noisy, you might be damaging your hearing. If your tinnitus is a result of damage, it could end up being permanent.
What is tinnitus (and why is it so common)?
Tinnitus is a condition in which you hear a sound that isn’t actually there. Tinnitus usually manifests as a ringing or buzzing, but can also manifest as other sounds, like screeching, thumping, or humming. Typically, the sounds are steady or rhythmic. For the majority of individuals, tinnitus will manifest over a short period of time before resolving itself and vanishing. In less common cases, tinnitus might become effectively permanent, a condition known as chronic tinnitus.
Tinnitus is so prevalent for a couple of reasons. The first is that the environmental factors that play a role in tinnitus are also fairly common (more on that in a bit). Root conditions and injuries can bring about tinnitus symptoms and that accounts for the second reason. And there are lots of conditions and injuries that can trigger tinnitus. As a result, tinnitus tends to be very common.
How is tinnitus impacted by environmental factors?
There are a wide variety of factors that can contribute to tinnitus symptoms, including ototoxic chemicals and medications. But when it comes to “environmental” triggers, noise is the biggest offender. For instance, some neighborhoods are noisier than others (traffic noise in some areas can get extraordinarily high). Someone would be at risk of environmental tinnitus, for example, if they worked around loud industrial equipment.
These environmental factors can be incredibly significant when considering your hearing health.
As with hearing loss, noise-associated damage can eventually trigger tinnitus symptoms. When tinnitus is a result of noise damage, it’s normally chronic and frequently permanent. Some of the most common noise and environment-related causes of tinnitus include the following:
- Traffic: Traffic in heavily populated places can be a lot louder than you might expect it to be. And you might not even recognize that your ears can be damaged at lower volumes than you may expect. Tinnitus and hearing damage can be the result of long commutes in these noisy locations.
- Music: Listening to music at loud volumes is a fairly common practice. Doing this on a regular basis can frequently result in tinnitus symptoms.
- Events: If noise is loud enough, even over short intervals, tinnitus can sometimes be the outcome. Firing a gun or going to a rock concert are examples of this kind of noise.
- Noise in the workplace: It might come as a surprise that lots of workplaces, sometimes even offices, are fairly loud. Whether it’s industrial equipment or gabby office neighbors, spending eight hours a day around continuous workplace noise can eventually result in tinnitus.
People often mistakenly believe hearing damage will only occur at extreme volume levels. Consequently, it’s crucial to use hearing protection before you think you might need it. Noise related tinnitus symptoms can frequently be avoided altogether by doing this.
If I’m experiencing tinnitus, what should I do?
So, does tinnitus resolve? Well, in some instances it may. But your symptoms may be permanent in some instances. There’s no way to identify which is which at the beginning. If you have tinnitus caused by noise damage, even if your tinnitus does clear up, your risk of having your tinnitus return and become chronic is a lot more likely.
People tend to underestimate the minimum volume that damage starts to happen, which is the most significant contributing factor to its development. If you experience tinnitus, your body is telling you that damage has already likely occurred. If this is the case, identifying and changing the source of the noise damage is crucial to prevent additional damage.
Here are a few tips you can try:
- Stop damage by utilizing hearing protection like earplugs or earmuffs. You can also get some amount of protection from noise canceling headphones.
- Reducing the volume of your environment where possible. If you have any machinery that’s not in use, turn it off, and shut the windows if it’s noisy outside, for instance.
- If you’re in a loud environment, regulate the amount of exposure time and give your ears rests.
How to manage your symptoms
Lots of individuals who experience persistent tinnitus find the symptoms to be tremendously distracting and uncomfortable. This prompts them to attempt to find a way to ease the severity of their symptoms.
If you hear a buzzing or ringing sound, it’s important to set up an appointment, especially if the sound doesn’t go away. We can help you determine the best way to address your particular situation. There’s no cure for the majority of kinds of chronic tinnitus. Here are a number of ways to manage the symptoms:
- Retraining therapy: In some instances, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, slowly changing the way you process sound.
- Relaxation techniques: Tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be aggravated by high blood pressure. Your tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be eased by utilizing relaxation techniques like meditation, for example.
- Hearing aid: This can help amplify outside sounds and, as a result, drown out the ringing or buzzing created by tinnitus.
- Masking device: This is a device that fits similarly to a hearing aid and plays sounds to mask your symptoms. Your device will be specifically calibrated to mask your symptoms of tinnitus.
- White noise devices: In some instances, you can tune out some of your tinnitus symptoms by using a white noise generator around your house.
Tinnitus has no cure. That’s why managing your environment to protect your hearing is a great first step.
But addressing and managing tinnitus is possible. Depending on your lifestyle, your hearing, and your tinnitus, we’ll be able to develop a specific treatment plan for you. For some people, managing your tinnitus may simply mean using a white noise machine. For other people, management might be more demanding.
Learn how to best manage your tinnitus by making an appointment right away!
