Author:
Lewis Jackson
Date Of Creation:
14 May 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
Tinnitus is the state of "perceiving sounds when in fact there isn't any". People with this disorder feel in their ears a strange cry like wind blowing, whistling, cicadas, clicking, clicking or hissing. Millions of people around the world experience this phenomenon. In the United States, more than 45 million people, about 15% of the population, experience tinnitus symptoms, while more than 2 million people suffer from severe tinnitus. Tinnitus can be a symptom of other more serious medical problems, including ear injury or loss of hearing (due to sensory factors and age). Tinnitus is not a condition to be taken lightly. The natural tinnitus treatment includes diagnosing the condition, applying hearing therapy, and a number of other methods.
Steps
Method 1 of 7: Diagnosis of tinnitus
Understand the concept of tinnitus. Tinnitus is perceived sound from large to small, loud enough to interfere with normal hearing and appear in one or both ears. You will hear ringing bells, wind blowing, rumbling, clicking or hissing. There are currently two types of tinnitus: subjective and objective tinnitus.- Subjective tinnitus is the most common type. Subjective tinnitus is caused by structural problems in the ear (outer, middle, and inner ear) or by problems with the auditory nerve pathways from the inside of the ear leading to the brain. With subjective tinnitus, only you can hear the sound.
- Objective tinnitus usually occurs rarely, but can be detected by the doctor during the examination. The cause can be heart problems, muscle spasms or related to the inner ear bones.
Identify risk factors for tinnitus. This symptom occurs more often in men than in women. The elderly are more likely to develop tinnitus than the young. Some of the main risk factors for tinnitus include:- Age (age 60 to 69 years old for the first time tinnitus)
- Sex
- Enlist (exposure to explosions, gunshots, loud machines)
- Work in a noisy environment
- Listen to music out loud
- Get exposed to loud sounds at work or when participating in entertainment activities
- Have a history of depression, anxiety, and / or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Answer the Tinnitus Disability Assessment questionnaire (in English). The Tinnitus Disability Assessment, the American Tinnitus Association questionnaire, can assist with your initial diagnosis. You are asked to have an analysis of the degree of the hearing problem to determine the severity of tinnitus. This is an effective first step in finding a treatment for tinnitus. advertisement
Method 2 of 7: Talk to your doctor
Ask for diagnostic tests. Your doctor will check your ears with an ear bronchoscope (a lightweight ear exam tool). You will also have a hearing test or imaging tests such as an MRI or CT.In some cases, the doctor will run some more specialized tests. Generally these tests are not invasive and painful, but can be annoying.
- You can feel the change in the inner ear bone due to genetic factors. The inner ear consists of three very small bones: the hammer, the incus, and the stapes. These three bones are linked together and the eardrum. They also connect with structural components that convert the vibrations of sound into nerve impulses that we perceive into sound. If these bones are not moving freely because of the sclerosis of the ears, they can cause tinnitus.
- Or accumulating too much earwax also causes tinnitus.
Consult your doctor about age-related conditions. Unfortunately, in many cases it is not possible to determine the cause of tinnitus. Sometimes it's just a matter of age, such as some of the following conditions:
- Age-related hearing loss (progressive hearing loss)
- Menopause: Tinnitus is one of the rare symptoms of menopause and can be caused by age, not by menopause switching. Usually tinnitus goes away with other menopause problems. Additionally, synthetic progestin hormone replacement therapy is believed to cause tinnitus.
Mention exposure to loud noise. If you work continuously in noisy environments, or are frequently exposed to high-pitched sounds, make it clear to your doctor. This helps your doctor to accurately diagnose your condition.
Consult your doctor about blood vessel disorders. Many abnormal conditions affecting blood flow can cause tinnitus. Talk to your doctor about the following disorders:
- Head and neck tumors put pressure on blood vessels and alter blood flow
- Atherosclerosis or cholesterol plaque buildup in arteries
- High Blood Pressure
- Structural changes in the carotid artery in the neck affect blood flow
- Change in shape of capillaries (arterial and venous malformations)
Talk to your doctor about some medications that can cause tinnitus. There are many medications that can cause or worsen tinnitus. This group includes:
- Aspirin
- Antibiotics, such as polymyxin B, erythromycin, vancomycin, and neomycin
- Diuretics (water pills), including bumetanide, ethacrynic acid and furosemide
- Bitter medicine for malaria
- Some medicines for depression
- Chemotherapy, including mechlorethamine and vincristine
Find out the other cause. Tinnitus can be caused by a number of other problems, so consult your doctor if you have the following conditions:
- Meniere's Disease: This is a disorder of the inner ear caused by increased pressure in the inner ear fluid
- Temporal joint disorder (TMJ)
- Head and neck injuries
- Benign tumors include an auditory nerve. This tumor usually causes ringing in one ear.
- Hypothyroidism: Low levels of thyroid hormones
See a doctor if symptoms suddenly appear. If you experience tinnitus symptoms after a sudden upper respiratory infection (URI) with no obvious cause, or experience dizziness or loss of hearing with tinnitus, see your doctor immediately .
- See your regular doctor first. You will be referred to an otolaryngologist.
- Tinnitus can cause other problems, including fatigue, stress, insomnia, trouble concentrating and remembering, depression and irritability. If you experience any of these symptoms, report them to your doctor.
Consider medical treatment to fix tinnitus. Treatment depends on the underlying cause, but may include the following:
- Clean earwax.
- Fix the underlying problem: For example, you may need to treat high blood pressure or atherosclerosis.
- Medication changes: If tinnitus is caused by a drug reaction, the doctor will change the drug or adjust the dose.
- Use tinnitus medications: although there is no specific medication used to treat tinnitus, some medications are still effective. These include medications for depression and anxiety. However, these drugs have many side effects such as dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, cardiovascular effects, drowsiness, and nausea.
Talk about hearing aids. This is a tool that helps some people. Your doctor may recommend a hearing aid after having been examined by a qualified audiologist.
- According to the American Tinnitus Association, "the inability of hearing reduces the stimulants of external sounds to the brain. As a result, there are flexible neurological changes in the brain that process the different frequencies of sounds. Tinnitus occurs due to poorly adaptive neuroplastic changes. " This means that the brain will adapt to a reduced hearing ability. However, the adaptation does not always work and as a result causes tinnitus. In general, hearing loss is usually with or above the frequency of tinnitus.
Method 3 of 7: Apply hearing therapy
Use gentle background sounds. Eliminate noise inside ears with music or other background sounds. You can use tapes that record "white noise" of waves, flowing rivers, rain, soft music, or any other sound that helps mask the noise inside your ears.
Hear soothing sounds while sleeping. White noise or soothing sounds can relax you. This plays a very important role as many people have difficulty sleeping due to tinnitus. At night, the space is usually quiet, so the sounds in your ears can make it difficult for you to fall asleep. Background sounds can bring calmness and help you fall asleep.
Hear brown or pink noise. "Brown noise" is a collection of sounds that emit more randomly and have more depth than white noise. "Pink noise" has a lower frequency and is also deeper than white noise. Both types of noise are recommended as sleep aids.
- Search for pink and brown noises online and choose the best sounds.
Avoid loud noises. One of the causes of tinnitus is exposure to loud noises. Limit your exposure to these sounds as much as possible. Some people are affected by loud noise. But if you experience severe tinnitus after hearing a loud noise, this is what affects your ears.
Consider music therapy. Research in Germany concerning tinnitus music therapy has shown that it can prevent tinnitus from becoming a chronic complication if applied to the early treatment of tinnitus.
- This therapy involves listening to music according to your preferences with the frequency adjusted to match the frequency of the sound inside your ears.
Method 4 of 7: Apply alternative treatments
Chiropractic. The temporal joint (TMJ) problem that causes tinnitus can be completely tackled with orthopedic methods. and ear bones.
- Orthopedic methods include manual manipulation of the TMJ. The technician also works on the neck bones to reduce tinnitus symptoms. Orthopedics are painless, but may cause temporary discomfort.
- Chiropractic can also use heat or ice and some intensive exercise.
- Orthopedics can fix Meniere's disease, another rare cause of tinnitus.
Conduct acupuncture. A number of recent research reviews regarding acupuncture's therapeutic effects suggest that you can try this method. Acupuncture is used according to each cause of tinnitus and is often combined with traditional Chinese herbs.
- The effectiveness of acupuncture on tinnitus still needs further research and evaluation.
Talk to your doctor about aldosterone. This is a hormone present in the adrenal glands that regulates sodium and potassium in the blood. One study has shown that tinnitus patients with hearing loss are often deficient in aldosterone. When the patient receives artificial aldosterone, his hearing will be restored and the tinnitus will disappear.
Try personalized sound frequency treatments. This is a fairly new approach and may work for some people.The method content includes finding a specific sound frequency in the ear and masking that frequency with specially designed sounds.
- An otolaryngologist or audiologist will recommend this type of treatment.
- You can find paid treatments on websites such as Audionotch and Tinnitracks. All of these services will guide you to check the specific frequency appropriate for your tinnitus condition and design the appropriate treatment protocol.
- This approach is still limited in research, but it holds great promise for effective treatment.
Method 5 of 7: Take supplements
Drink CoQ10. The body uses CoQ10, or coenzyme Q10, for cell growth and maintenance as well as an antioxidant. CoQ10 is also found in organ meats, such as the heart, liver and kidneys.
- One study has shown that CoQ10 supplements can assist patients with low CoQ10 levels.
- Take a dose of 100 mg three times a day.
Try ginkgo biloba supplements. Ginkgo biloba is believed to increase blood flow to the brain and is used to treat tinnitus with mixed results. This could be because tinnitus has many causes.
- A recent review found that there was insufficient evidence to support the use of ginkgo biloba to treat tinnitus. However, another recent report suggested that the standardized ginkgo biloba extract, Egb 761, had a positive effect. Egb 761 is “a standardized Ginkgo biloba leaf extract and has complete antioxidant properties. Standardized Ginkgo biloba leaf extract is a nutritious product and contains approximately 24% flavone glycosides (primary quercetin, kaempferol and isorhamnetin) and 6% terpene lactone ((2.8-3.4% ginkgolide A, B and C). , and 2.6-3.2% bilobalide). ”
- Commercially, this supplement is sold as Tebonin Egb 761.
- Follow the manufacturer's instructions if using this supplement.
Increase zinc absorption. In one study, nearly half of tinnitus patients improved by consuming 50 mg of zinc daily for 2 months. Such zinc dosage is actually quite high. It is recommended that men take 11 mg and women 8 mg.
- Before taking zinc supplements, talk to a specialist.
- If used with high levels, you should not use continuously for more than 2 months.
- Balance your intake of zinc with copper. The use of zinc in high doses can lead to copper deficiency and anemia. Hence the addition of copper helps prevent this from happening. You should take 2 mg of copper per day.
Try melatonin supplements. This is the hormone that helps regulate sleep. One study found that taking 3 mg of melatonin in the evening was beneficial for men with a history of depression and tinnitus in the ears. advertisement
Method 6 of 7: Changing diet
Avoid salty foods. You need to limit these foods because they affect blood pressure and lead to tinnitus.
Eat healthy, full of nutrients. Eat a healthy diet that is full of nutrients low in salt, sugar and saturated fat, as well as fortifying with fruits and vegetables.
Limit caffeine, alcohol, and coffee consumption. These are common substances that cause tinnitus. Reduce your intake of these substances as much as possible. It is not known why these substances affect so many different people. Since tinnitus is a symptom of many underlying problems, the reason they become triggers depends on the individual.
- Limiting the absorption of these substances has not necessarily improved tinnitus. In fact, one study has shown that caffeine is not linked to tinnitus at all. Another study suggested that alcohol can reduce tinnitus in the elderly.
- At a minimum, you should monitor what happens when drinking coffee, alcohol or using nicotine, especially watch for tinnitus after taking these substances. If tinnitus gets worse, you may have to avoid these factors altogether.
Method 7 of 7: Seek support
Try sound and cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a method of using relaxation techniques for a patient with tinnitus and restructuring their thinking about this symptom. Sound therapy is an additional approach to reducing noise sensitivity in the ears.
- A therapist will teach you how to deal with the noise. This is the CBT adaptive exercise routine in which you will learn to ignore tinnitus. A therapist will advise on tinnitus and some relaxation techniques. You will develop a practical, effective attitude in the face of tinnitus. "
- The latest technical evaluation has shown that they do not affect the noise intensity, but do affect the patient's response to noise. Reactions after CBT include reduced anxiety, and greater satisfaction with life.
- A recent large-scale review of tinnitus therapies found that the combination of sound therapy (background noise) and CBT yield the best overall results.
- Another study looked at nine high-quality studies evaluating the results of cognitive behavioral and sound therapy. Each study used standardized and accredited questionnaires. Researchers have found that the two therapies have similar effects in overcoming tinnitus symptoms.
Join a support group. There are a few benefits to you from joining a support group for people with tinnitus, especially if you are suffering from tinnitus depression or anxiety.
- A support group can help you develop resilience to your situation.
See a psychiatrist. Anxiety and depression can lead to tinnitus and vice versa. If you are experiencing these symptoms, you need to seek professional help. Usually depression and anxiety come before tinnitus, but sometimes they can come later. The sooner you treat tinnitus, anxiety and / or depression, the better you will feel and return to normal activities.
- Tinnitus also makes it difficult to concentrate. So cognitive behavioral therapy is very effective, helping you to develop skills to adapt to this symptom.
Advice
- Try measures that work for you. Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease, so there are many causes for it. Each treatment is more effective on one person than another. Sometimes a combination of therapies works, so you need to be very persistent. Try several strategies until you find the right one.
