What is Tinnitus?
If you experience a ringing, buzzing, humming, thumping, whooshing, or whistling sound in your ears on a regular basis, you most likely have tinnitus. Tinnitus, commonly known as “ringing in the ears,” affects millions of people around the world. Tinnitus can range in severity and can be soft or loud, sporadic or constant, mildly annoying or debilitating.
The causes of tinnitus can vary and include hearing loss, loud noise exposure, anxiety or stress, Meniere’s disease, head trauma, or ototoxic medications. If you suffer from constant, annoying tinnitus, it’s important to not only schedule a hearing exam, but to talk to your doctor about other potential causes as well.
Many people will experience tinnitus at some point in their life. Usually when this occurs the tinnitus is short, lasting only a few seconds before it dissipates. Some people however hear the phantom sounds of tinnitus on a constant basis. When this happens, tinnitus can affect concentration, sleep, and mental health. If you are experiencing painful, frequent ringing in the ears, help is available
Tinnitus Management
If tinnitus is affecting your quality of life, we offer a solution. First, we will evaluate your hearing and perform a tinnitus test. The purpose of this is to determine what type of tinnitus you have as well as if it accompanies hearing loss. Then, once we’ve determined how tinnitus affects you, we will help you stop the ringing in your ears. We offer tinnitus masking hearing aids that will play soothing sounds to help distract your brain from the symptoms of tinnitus. Because tinnitus and hearing loss often occur together, hearing aids can be a great management tool.
The audiologists at New River Valley Hearing are experts in hearing loss and tinnitus and can help manage your symptoms. Experience relief from ringing in the ears by contacting our office today for a hearing exam.