Tinnitus is an exceptionally common condition of the ear. It’s one of the most common health conditions in the world with some estimates indicating that up to 10 percent of the population experiences it at one point or another. The condition is experienced as a sound in the ear that isn’t really there, usually, it’s a buzzing or ringing, but tinnitus can take the form of other sounds too.
While the prevalence of tinnitus might be obvious, the causes are often more cloudy. Some of the wide range of tinnitus causes are temporary, while others can be more long term.
This is why environmental factors can play a major role in tinnitus symptoms. After all, every environment has a soundscape, and when that soundscape is noisy, you might be doing damage to your ears. If your tinnitus is a result of damage, it could end up being permanent.
Why do so many individuals experience tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a condition in which you hear a noise that isn’t really there. Tinnitus typically manifests as a ringing or buzzing, but can also manifest as other noises, like screeching, thumping, or humming. The sounds are usually rhythmic in nature. For most people, tinnitus will manifest over a short period of time before solving itself and vanishing. In less common cases, tinnitus might become effectively permanent, a condition referred to as chronic tinnitus.
Tinnitus is so common for a couple of reasons. Firstly, environmental factors that can contribute to tinnitus are rather prevalent. The second reason is that tinnitus is often a symptom of a root condition or injury. And there are quite a few conditions and injuries that can trigger tinnitus. Tinnitus is rather prevalent for these reasons.
How is tinnitus impacted by environmental factors?
There are a wide variety of factors that can contribute to tinnitus symptoms, including ototoxic chemicals and medicines. But when it comes to “environmental” triggers, noise is the biggest culprit. Some settings, such as noisy city streets, can get very loud. Likewise, anybody who works around industrial equipment all day would be at risk of their environment worsening their tinnitus.
These environmental factors can be incredibly important when considering your hearing health.
Noise related damage, as with hearing loss, can activate tinnitus symptoms. In these situations, the resulting tinnitus is often chronic in nature. Some of the most prevalent noise and environment-induced causes of tinnitus include the following:
- Music: Many people will frequently listen to their music at loud volumes. Doing this on a consistent basis can often result in tinnitus symptoms.
- Noise in the workplace: It might come as a surprise that lots of workplaces, sometimes even offices, are fairly loud. Whether it’s industrial equipment or gabby office neighbors, spending eight hours a day around continuous workplace noise can eventually result in tinnitus.
- Events: If noise is loud enough, even over short intervals, tinnitus can sometimes be the result. For example, going to a concert or using firearms can both trigger tinnitus if the volumes get to a loud enough level.
- Traffic: Traffic in heavily populated locations can be a lot louder than you might expect it to be. And you may not even realize that your ears can be damaged at lower volumes than you may expect. Tinnitus and hearing damage can be the result of long commutes in these noisy locations.
People frequently wrongly believe damage to their ears will only occur at extreme volume levels. As a result, it’s essential to use hearing protection before you think you might need it. Noise related tinnitus symptoms can often be avoided altogether by doing this.
What should I do if I’m experiencing tinnitus?
Will tinnitus clear up on its own? Perhaps, in some cases. In other cases, your symptoms could be permanent. There’s no way to know which is which at the outset. If you have tinnitus due to noise damage, even if your tinnitus does clear up, your chance of having your tinnitus return and become chronic is a lot more probable.
People often underestimate the minimum volume that damage begins to occur, which is the most significant contributing factor to its development. If you experience tinnitus, your body is telling you that damage has already likely happened. This means that there are several things that you should do to alter your environment so as to prevent more irreparable damage.
Here are a few tips you can try:
- Using hearing protection (either earplugs or earmuffs) in order to counter damage. You can also get some amount of protection from noise canceling headphones.
- Reducing the volume of your environment where possible. If you have any machinery that’s not in use, turn it off, and shut the windows if it’s noisy outside, for example.
- Decreasing the amount of time you spend in loud environments without giving your ears a chance to recuperate.
How to handle your symptoms
Many individuals who experience chronic tinnitus find the symptoms to be extremely distracting and uncomfortable. This prompts them to try and find a way to ease the severity of their symptoms.
If you hear a ringing or buzzing sound, it’s important to set up an appointment, especially if the sound doesn’t go away. We can help you determine the best way to regulate your specific situation. There’s no cure for most forms of chronic tinnitus. Symptom management might include the following:
- Masking device: This device is a lot like a hearing aid, but instead of amplifying sounds, it masks them. The exact calibration of your device will depend on your particular symptoms.
- White noise devices: In some cases, you can tune out some of your tinnitus symptoms by using a white noise generator around your home.
- Retraining therapy: In some situations, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, slowly modifying the way you process sound.
- Relaxation techniques: High blood pressure has sometimes been associated with an increase in the severity of tinnitus symptoms. Your tinnitus symptoms can sometimes be alleviated by using relaxation techniques like meditation, for instance.
- Hearing aid: The ringing or buzzing created by tinnitus can be drowned out by raising the volume of outside sounds with hearing aids.
There’s no cure for tinnitus. A great first step would be to safeguard your hearing by managing your environment.
But treating and controlling tinnitus is possible. We’ll be able to establish a specific treatment plan based on your hearing, your tinnitus, and your lifestyle. A white noise machine, for many, may be all that’s necessary. In other cases, a more extensive approach may be necessary.
Learn how to best manage your tinnitus by making an appointment right away!