20 Facts about Tinnitus that You should know

Relax. Even simple home relaxation, yoga, meditation can reduce the severity of tinnitus and even completely stop its manifestation.

According to the National Medical Association of Otorhinolaryngologists of Russia, up to 15% of the population suffers from tinnitus, and at least 1% of ear noise significantly reduces the quality of life, more often this group of diseases occurs in adulthood and old age.

Do you still think that this problem is not worth the egg?

1. Tinnitus, or tinnitus, is not always a predictor of hearing problems, but it is in the category of symptoms that require contacting a specialist as soon as possible.
2. Studies concerning tinnitus do not stand still. Almost every day scientists learn something new. Below are 20 facts about tinnitus that you should read and think about.
3. Each person describes tinnitus in different ways: someone says that he hears a squeak or ringing, someone compares the sound to the murmur of a stream or a tap with water, someone describes the operation of some equipment. One has a continuous, monotonous sound, the other has blows, calls, slaps and the like, the third even has voices.
4. Most often, ringing, or noise, in the ears accompanies hearing loss. In the absence of part of the sound information, the hardworking brain is trying to find a job and replaces the “emptiness” with phantom sounds, namely– noise or ringing.
5. In general, from 15 to 40% of the adult population hear tinnitus. Tinnitus affects the older population to a greater extent (about 20% of men and women aged 55 to 65 suffer from it), being one of the most common diseases. In general, cases registered in young people are more common in military personnel, as well as in industrial workers whose work is associated with constant exposure to intense noise.
6. Only no more than 15% of people suffering from tinnitus go to doctors with this problem. It is known that up to 85 percent of people suffering from this disease have a registered hearing loss in the range of 250-8000 Hz.
7. In addition to age and the consequences of auditory trauma, the cause of tinnitus can be heart and spine problems, inflammatory and infectious ear diseases, sulfur plug, organic brain damage, migraine, stress, Meniere’s disease, anxiety, depression and much more.
8. Some patients with tinnitus are able to affect its intensity simply by changing the position of the head, clenching the jaws, performing a little visual gymnastics or something like that.
9. To date, one of the niches of the study of tinnitus has become MRI. The use of this visualization method allowed us to make a number of discoveries and lead scientists and doctors to some thoughts about the occurrence of this phenomenon and ways to resolve it.
10. There is a kind of tinnitus that can be heard with a stethophonendoscope. Rhythmic noise is the sound of blood pulsating in the vessels.
11. It is proved that bilateral tinnitus is a hereditary disease, especially characteristic of the male population.
12. It has been established that people with tinnitus have a smaller subcallosal zone. This area of the brain is located under the corpus callosum, connecting the cerebral cortex, and is an integral part of the brain apparatus responsible for human emotions. Thus, stimulation of the subcallosal region can relieve a person from obsessive tinnitus.
13. Studies conducted at the University of Illinois have confirmed the relationship between meditation and other relaxing techniques and the intensity of tinnitus. During an attack of tinnitus, a person is in a state of alert, respectively, with complete bodily and mental relaxation, the severity of the symptom decreases or even fades away.
14. Now about the treatment. It has been proven that methods of treating depression can reduce the severity of tinnitus. People who get rid of depressive disorders with the help of physical exercise, psychotherapy, nutrition and taking antidepressants noted that they did not hear pathological sounds so loudly.
15. Currently, there are no medications or dietary supplements that really reduce tinnitus. Relax. Even simple home relaxation, yoga, meditation can reduce the severity of tinnitus and even completely stop its manifestation.
16. One of the main obstacles to the study of tinnitus treatment methods is the lack of any universal methodology for assessing the intensity of tinnitus. However, at the beginning of this year, data was published that a grading method has already been invented, tested on animals. So, success is just around the corner.
17. The results of several studies show that such a type of treatment for anxiety disorders as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce tinnitus.
18. Sound therapy has been developed to temporarily relieve a person from intrusive noise. Indeed, continuous, low-frequency, pulsating sound relieves tinnitus, but only during its exposure. When the device is turned off, the noise returns. That is why doctors sometimes prescribe wearing a hearing aid to patients suffering from tinnitus. Sound stimulation can lead to getting rid of an unpleasant symptom.
19. The relationship between tinnitus and sleep problems has been proven. The longer a person suffers from tinnitus, the more insomnia torments him.
20. If you feel ringing and soreness while listening to loud music or other sounds, you may be suffering from hyperacusis. Contact your doctor. The occasional ringing in the ears, as well as the temporary appearance of a symptom, may sometimes not be a companion of a serious illness. Sometimes the noise appears during infections of the middle and inner ear, with a sulfur plug or taking certain medications. Such a disease does not require specific treatment and passes on its own.

If you hear noise or ringing in your ears, be sure to contact a surdologist or a hearing specialist. Do not delay, because it can aggravate the problem.