It’s not unusual for individuals to have ringing in their ears, also known as tinnitus. Some estimates indicate that 10 percent of people have tinnitus at one time or another, making it one of the most prevalent health conditions in the world. Although the most common manifestation of tinnitus is a phantom ringing or buzzing in your ear, it can also present as other sounds as well.
Unfortunately, the causes of tinnitus aren’t as obvious as the symptoms. Some of the wide variety of tinnitus causes are temporary, while others can be more long term.
That’s why your environment can be critically important. If the background sound of your particular setting is very noisy, you might be damaging your hearing. This environmental tinnitus may sometimes be permanent or it may sometimes respond to changes to make your environment quieter.
Why do so many individuals experience tinnitus?
When you hear noises that aren’t really there, that’s tinnitus. Tinnitus typically manifests as a ringing or buzzing, but can also manifest as other sounds, like screeching, thumping, or humming. The sounds are usually rhythmic in nature. For the majority of individuals, tinnitus will occur over a short period of time before solving itself and going away. Though not as common, chronic tinnitus is effectively permanent.
Tinnitus is so common for a couple of reasons. The first is that the environmental factors that play a role in tinnitus are also quite common (more on that soon). The second reason is that tinnitus is usually a symptom of a root condition or injury. And there are quite a few conditions and injuries that can trigger tinnitus. As a result, tinnitus tends to be quite common.
How can the environment affect tinnitus?
Other things can also trigger tinnitus, including ototoxic medicines and chemicals. However, when most individuals discuss “environment” when it comes to tinnitus, they actually mean the noise. For example, some locations are noisier than others (traffic noise in some areas can get extraordinarily high). Somebody would be in danger of environmental tinnitus, for example, if they worked around loud industrial equipment.
When assessing the state of your health, these environmental factors are very important.
As with hearing loss, noise-associated damage can eventually trigger tinnitus symptoms. In these situations, the resulting tinnitus is often chronic in nature. Some of the most prevalent noise and environment-related causes of tinnitus include the following:
- Noise in the workplace: It might come as a surprise that many workplaces, sometimes even offices, are pretty noisy. Whether it’s industrial equipment or gabby office neighbors, spending eight hours a day around continuous workplace noise can eventually lead to tinnitus.
- Music: Many individuals will frequently listen to their music at high volumes. Tinnitus will frequently be the outcome if you do this regularly.
- Events: Tinnitus can sometimes result from loud noises, even if they aren’t experienced over a long time-period. Shooting a gun or going to a rock concert are examples of this kind of noise.
- Traffic: You might not even recognize how loud traffic can be in heavily populated locations. And you might not even recognize 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 settings.
Hearing damage can occur at a far lower volume than people generally expect. Consequently, it’s crucial to wear hearing protection before you think you may need it. Noise related tinnitus symptoms can often be avoided altogether by doing this.
If I have tinnitus, what should I do?
So, does tinnitus go away? Well, in some instances it might. But your symptoms might be irreversible in some cases. Initially, it’s basically impossible to know which is which. If you have tinnitus caused by noise damage, even if your tinnitus does clear up, your chance of having your tinnitus come back and become chronic is a lot more likely.
One of the most significant contributing factors to the advancement of tinnitus is that people tend to underestimate the volume at which damage occurs to their ears. If you experience tinnitus, your body is telling you that damage has already likely happened. If this is the case, identifying and changing the source of the noise damage is crucial to prevent additional damage.
Here are a few tips you can try:
- If possible, try to lower environmental volume. For instance, you could shut the windows if you live in a loud area or turn off industrial machinery that is not in use.
- Stop damage by using hearing protection like earplugs or earmuffs. You can also get some amount of protection from noise canceling headphones.
- If you’re in a loud environment, regulate the amount of exposure time and give your ears breaks.
Dealing with symptoms
Lots of individuals who experience persistent tinnitus find the symptoms to be tremendously distracting and uncomfortable. This prompts them to attempt to find a way to ease the intensity of their symptoms.
You should contact us for an appointment if you’re hearing a persistent buzzing or ringing in your ears. We can help you figure out the best way to manage your particular situation. For the majority of cases of persistent tinnitus, there’s no cure. Symptom management might include the following:
- Masking device: This is a device that fits similarly to a hearing aid and plays sounds to mask your symptoms. The exact calibration of your device will depend on your specific symptoms.
- White noise devices: Utilizing a white noise device around your house can help you tune out your tinnitus in some instances.
- 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 utilizing relaxation techniques like meditation, for instance.
- Retraining therapy: In some situations, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, slowly modifying the way you process sound.
- Hearing aid: The ringing or buzzing created by tinnitus can be drowned out by boosting the volume of outside sounds with hearing aids.
Tinnitus has no cure. That’s why managing your environment to safeguard your hearing is a great first step.
But treating and controlling tinnitus is possible. Depending on your lifestyle, your hearing, and your tinnitus, we’ll be able to formulate a specific treatment plan for you. A white noise machine, for many individuals, may be all that’s necessary. In other cases, a more intensive approach might be necessary.
Learn how to best manage your tinnitus by making an appointment right away!