Tinnitus Help - Stop the Ringing in Your Ears

The majority of people with tinnitus have what's know as the "somatic" form. That's when the noises you hear are generated or otherwise affected when you move your head or neck. In a Scientific American article, science journalist Anton Benz refers to a recent clinical trial, in which audiologist Susan Shore of the University of Michigan and colleagues used a new procedure to significantly alleviate the symptoms of tinnitus. Benz says the researchers developed a “bisensory” treatment.  It consists of an "in-ear headphone and two externally attached electrodes that delivered a combination of acoustic and electric stimuli to reduce activity in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN)." The way is works is that "precisely timed sounds alternated with weak electrical pulses that activate touch-sensitive nerves, aimed at steering damaged nerve cells back to normal activity," according to the University of Michigan's Fast Forward Medical Innovation page. ...

According to Arthritis.org, people with arthritis can experience hearing loss and tinnitus for two reasons: due to the arthritis itself and due to the high levels of aspirin and other medications they take. In addition to reducing blood flow to the inner ear, acetaminophen may reduce a protein that protects the inner ear from damage. Sometimes, lowering the amount or frequency of your arthritis medications, or even changing to another medication entirely, can reverse hearing loss. Other "medications known to cause tinnitus include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and certain antibiotics, cancer drugs, water pills (diuretics), antimalarial drugs and antidepressants," according to Mayo Clinic. It's not just the meds, though. Older people who've had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for years may experience tinnitus too, say rheumatologist Judith Frank . That's because the inflammation associated with RA can damage the tiny joints in the ear (in addition to the ...

Ignoring your tinnitus is very different than becoming accustomed to it and ignoring the sounds you hear.  That's because tinnitus isn't always caused by exposure to very loud noise. It can also be the result of an ear or head injury, a circulatory disorder or simply by how old you are.  However, until you get a diagnosis, you won't know if it's something as simple as a build up of earwax, which is easily remedied. The one time you can probably ignore the sounds in your head are if they occur right after a really loud concert or sporting event. If the tinnitus is indeed temporary, it'll go away by itself in a few days and you don't have to worry about it. Still, you can use the scare as a warning from your body to use some earplugs next time. If you totally ignore the condition, though, you could have an injury or even tumor that only your doctor can diagnose. There are other reasons to get the reasons behind your tinnitus diagnosed: According to HearingInfo.net...

Maybe it's Taylor Swift, or maybe it's just that Gen Zs are growing up more educated than the rest of us, but ear plugs are all over TikTok as fashionable (healthy) accessories.  The hashtag leading the pack is simply #earplugs with more than 292 million views, but the lonely #earplug has 51 million and even the polite #earplugsplease has 43 thousand views. More concert-goers than ever seem to be using hearing protection, and that's a smart move: The only preventable hearing loss is that due to noise. And a major side effect to very loud noise exposure is tinnitus. Other than reducing noise exposure, there's no way to control other factors that cause hearing loss (aging, genetics, infection or illnesses). Once you've damaged the hair cells in your inner ears, that's it. Cheap foam earplugs are just as effective as expensive ones, but those designed for music filter out bass and high frequency better. In other words, the sound quality you'll hear wearing che...

People who have high-intensity tinnitus probably scoff at those who wonder if they even have the condition. But because tinnitus varies in intensity and sound type, wondering if you even have tinnitus is a valid question. If the sounds in your head (that no one else hears) are faint and come and go, you may have a form of intermittent tinnitus. As long as the noises aren't noticeable and don't bother you, it's certainly livable and shouldn't interfere with your daily life. You can have bouts of tinnitus which go away quickly. These episodic events are typically caused by loud noises (concerts, for example) and even mundane things like sneezing too hard. You'll hear ringing in your ears for a while, and then everything's back to normal. It's when the sounds are high-frequency or high-volume plus unrelenting that you'll know without question that you have tinnitus. The tinnitus itself is not a cause for alarm -- after all, it can go away by itself. It'...