Tinnitus
Tinnitus or ringing in the ears
Have you ever suffered from a ringing or noise in your ear? Every year, thousands of Dutch people suffer hearing damage due to loud music and loud noise. We call this tinnitus or ringing in the ears. Usually, the result of a night out or a music festival is a ringing or noise. If you damage your hearing very badly, you may suffer from tinnitus or ringing in the ears. It is estimated that 2 million people in the Netherlands suffer from tinnitus, with a few thousand people having such bad ringing in the ears that it is unbearable. Many people have questions about tinnitus, on this page we hope to answer the frequently asked questions.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is also called ringing in the ears. You hear a constant noise, while there is no real sound. The ringing in the ears can be perceived as a beeping sound, humming sound, hissing sound, high constant tones or more. Tinnitus does not always occur in both ears, some people only suffer from ringing in the ears in one ear.
Have you ever had a ringing or noise in your ear for one or more days? People with tinnitus experience this 24/7. For a small number of people living with tinnitus, this ringing or noise is so present that it greatly affects their daily activities and prevents them from leading a normal life. The consequences of tinnitus can therefore be very serious for their daily activities, because they hear a loud noise all day long.
The causes of tinnitus
Tinnitus is mainly caused by (long-term) exposure to loud noise. Tinnitus usually develops gradually, with people experiencing a ringing or noise in their ears after a night out or a concert. In addition, brain damage, diabetes, high blood pressure, vascular diseases, neurological injury, stress, emotional problems and medication use can also cause someone to suffer from tinnitus.
The cause of tinnitus is damage to the nerves or damage to the last part of the hearing organ. In addition, contracting muscles located in the middle ear can also cause tinnitus. In recent years, more and more research has been done that shows that the brain can also cause tinnitus. The hearing area of the brain continuously gives signals while there is no reason for it. Tinnitus is also called phantom sound, the sound is not there but your brain makes you think it is.
The difference between subjective tinnitus and objective tinnitus
With tinnitus, a distinction can be made between a subjective form and an objective form. If someone only 'hears' the tinnitus themselves, then we speak of subjective tinnitus. In addition, there is also a visible form of tinnitus, namely the objective variant. In this case, an ENT specialist can see the contractions of a muscle in the middle ear. This makes it clear that the tinnitus is there and the ENT specialist can actually observe it.
The degrees of tinnitus
People with tinnitus do not always experience that they are bothered by ringing in the ears. Any form of tinnitus can be annoying, but we discuss four different degrees when we talk about ringing in the ears:
- Mild tinnitus: the ringing in the ears is only audible when it is quiet.
- Moderate tinnitus: the ringing in the ears is noticeable in quiet situations where the sound sometimes takes over.
- Severe tinnitus: with this variant you hear your tinnitus every second and it often drowns out other sounds.
- Very severe tinnitus: the most severe variant causes people to be unable to function normally in daily life at times. The tinnitus drowns out and disrupts daily interaction intensely.
Can tinnitus be cured?
Unfortunately, most types of tinnitus cannot yet be cured with existing medical treatment. However, it is important to look at how the tinnitus originated. Is the tinnitus caused by stress? Then there is a good chance that it will stop again when you get your stress level under control. Do you experience tinnitus as a side effect of medication? Then consult your GP or doctor, usually the noise will stop when you stop taking this medication.
The hearing aids below have a noise masker and can therefore mask or alleviate tinnitus. The only hearing aid that can be worn day and night is the Lyric. The Lyric provides extra relief because you also wear the hearing aid when it becomes quiet around you (while sleeping). To read more about Lyric and tinnitus, visit Lyriccentrum.
In the objective variant of tinnitus, it is sometimes possible to treat it by, for example, stopping the action of the specific vibrating muscle. At the moment, many different institutes are conducting research into tinnitus. With a growing group of people who suffer from mild and severe hearing damage, it is very important that new treatment methods are discovered. For example, there is now also a treatment method to suppress the overactive hearing part of the brain by means of an electrode. However, there are many treatments and hearing aids that work with counter-sound, so that the sound of the tinnitus no longer dominates. The sound is therefore not removed but masked.
Living with tinnitus
If you suffer from tinnitus, it can be difficult and very annoying. Learning to deal with this condition has different consequences for everyone. It is especially important to ensure that the ringing, noise or sound does not get worse. Then go to your GP or an ENT specialist and together you can find out the possible cause and see if a treatment for tinnitus is possible.
