Sounds or noise that a person hears in the ears or in their heads with no external sound source present is known as tinnitus. It is typically a ring; a hum or whooshing sound and it is quite common. Most people will experience mild tinnitus at some point during their life. For some people however, as many as one in eight, the tinnitus is persistent, intrusive, and often debilitating.
Although there is currently no cure for tinnitus, there is a lot we can do to manage its intrusiveness and the draining effect it may have. Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss and it has a close emotional link. Successful treatment of tinnitus requires a strategies to deal with all these aspects.
Where to find help:
A clinical Audiologist that specialises in tinnitus, like Farnham Hearing, is an excellent place to start. Otherwise, your GP could refer you via the NHS to Audiology or Ear-, Nose and Throat.
Successful tinnitus management relies on a three-pronged approach:
Empowering you to gain control over the tinnitus
Successful tinnitus management relies heavily on a true understanding of the nature of tinnitus. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy focuses on your thoughts and beliefs about the tinnitus and encouraging you to create new thought patterns to combat destructive beliefs.
Improving hearing
Because tinnitus is closely related to hearing loss, it is crucial to improve hearing with good quality hearing aids. Even mild hearing loss can cause tinnitus and improving the hearing will inevitably reduce your tinnitus awareness.
Using sound therapy or sound enriching
By using white noise or nature sound, the contrast in the environment comparative to the tinnitus in your head, is reduced and the resulting effect is a reduction your tinnitus awareness. This could be delivered via hearing instruments that nowadays streams the sound via Smart Phones directly into the ear canal.
In the meantime, while awaiting your appointment, the best advice for tinnitus sufferers is to avoid complete silence. If you are having trouble to fall asleep at night due to tinnitus, or struggle to concentrate during the day, make sure the room you are in, is not completely silent. Any low-level sound is known to bring some relief.
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