A person with tinnitus can hear hissing, clicking, or whistling sounds. It can be temporary, or it can be chronic and persistent. Most tinnitus is due to damage to the cochlea, or inner ear. Tinnitus happens when we consciously hear a sound that does not come from any source outside the body.
Tinnitus
is thought to affect 50
million
Americans. It usually occurs after the age of 50 years, but children and
adolescents can experience it, too. For some, it can lead to insomnia, difficulty with concentration, poor
work or school performance, irritability, anxiety, and depression. Certain medications
can cause or worsen tinnitus, for example, aspirin, particularly in large doses.
The
noise is usually subjective, meaning that only the person who has tinnitus can
hear it. Tinnitus is a non-auditory, internal sound that can be intermittent or
continuous, in one or both ears, and either low- or high-pitched. Here are some
facts to know about tinnitus:
1. Tinnitus is a symptom not a disease:
There are many different kinds of
medical conditions that can increase the chance of developing tinnitus, which
is often referred to as ‘ringing in the ears’. The most common is hearing
loss. It accounts for more than 90% of cases. There are more
than five million people in the United Kingdom with tinnitus.
2. There is no cure for tinnitus: Unfortunately,
there is no cure for most cases of tinnitus. In rare circumstances, surgery can
alleviate it for people who have a tinnitus caused by a neurovascular
problem. The mechanisms of tinnitus are poorly understood but there are
many different management options. We hope to provide evidence
for the effectiveness of these options through our research.
3. People experience tinnitus differently: Tinnitus
is a really personal condition, and it
affects people in different ways. Clinicians and researchers often rely on
questionnaires which ask about a range of different aspects; how loud it sounds,
how intrusive it is, how annoying it seems; how much it affects sleep quality;
whether it interferes with hearing; how distressed they feel by it; whether
they have any fears about it.
4. Tinnitus isn’t just for those in their 50s: It’s
true that most people start to complain about tinnitus between the ages of
50-69, but teenagers can get tinnitus too. The problem with tinnitus in
children is that it’s often under-diagnosed.
5. You can enjoy music, and protect your hearing: Listening
to any sound at a high volume (more than
89 decibels) for more than five hours a week can damage hearing permanently
over time. Although this damage may not be immediately noticeable, over time it
can increase the risk of developing hearing problems and tinnitus. Younger
people in particular are damaging their hearing by not using earplugs at gigs,
festivals and nightclubs, and by turning up the volume on their MP3 players to
dangerous levels.
My advice is to buy a good quality set of earbuds. Don’t rely
on the ones that come with your iPod because they don’t work so well at cutting
out extraneous background noise. Earbuds with good attenuating properties mean
that you don’t need to turn the music up so loud.
“I carry out my full duties as
Deputy First Minister, and accept I have
tinnitus but appreciate the hearing that I do have and that it does not limit
me in a professional or personal capacity.”
(Martin McGuinness)[i]
(Martin McGuinness)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“5 Things You Need to Know about Tinnitus by Professor Deborah Hall
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