How Can You Tell if You Have Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a common condition that affects more than 50-million Americans. Around 20 million cases are chronic, meaning that they persist over time. Do you think you have tinnitus? If so, then this post is for you. Here, we run through the condition’s most common signs.

You Can Hear a Persistent Noise in Both Your Ears

Traditionally, audiologists described tinnitus as a ringing in the ears. However, patients may also experience it as a humming, whirring, buzzing or whooshing noise.

In most cases, tinnitus occurs in both ears. Cases of single-ear tinnitus are usually transient and a result of external factors. For instance. you may hear noises in one of your ears from time to time. particularly if you hear a loud bang or experience a traumatic injury. These sounds usually disappear within a few minutes to hours, and your hearing returns to normal.

By contrast, if the tones are more persistent, then it may be a sign of tinnitus. Try waiting it out for 48 hours. Most tinnitus will disappear within two days. If it lasts two weeks or more, visit your audiologist

You Can Hear a Thumping Sound

In some cases, tinnitus presents as a thumping sound. Patients experience transient tinnitus that is loud one moment and then quiet the next. Usually, this tinnitus is the result of a cardiovascular issue.

Most tinnitus cases are subjective. In other words, the patient’s mind generates the noise. There is no external cause so there is no way that doctors can detect it using listening devices. However, if you hear thumping sounds that match your heartbeat, it could be a sign of objective tinnitus. Here, audiologists could place a sound measuring instrument in your ear and detect the noise if it was sensitive enough.

The pulsation of blood through capillaries in the middle and inner ear is the most common cause of objective tinnitus. If you believe that you have this version of the condition, you should speak to your audiologist as soon as possible.

You Can Hear Music All the Time

Hearing music is a confusing symptom of tinnitus. That’s because the condition is generating a noise that sounds familiar to something that would ordinarily come from the external environment. Many patients often find the music so convincing that they search for the source, such as a radio.

You may also hear other complex sounds such as birdsong or traffic. However, in the case of tinnitus, these are auditory hallucinations, generated entirely by the brain.

Fortunately, there is a range of treatments for tinnitus that can improve the management of the condition. The most common option is to wear hearing aids. These increase auditory stimulation, making tinnitus less intrusive or eliminating it entirely. Many devices also feature sound masking technology which helps to block out subjective noises.

In addition to this, audiologists may recommend tinnitus retraining therapy. This talk therapy gets you to think about your tinnitus in a different way, making symptoms more manageable.

Lastly, you may want to try various lifestyle modifications. Quitting drinking, reducing alcohol intake and getting earwax removed can all help.