You have a buzzing in your ears and it’s not improving, if anything it’s getting worse. At first, you could hardly hear it. But you’ve noticed how loud and constant the tinnitus sounds have become after a full day on the job at a construction site. Sometimes, it sounds like ringing or other sounds. You’re considering coming in to see us, but you’re wondering: how is ringing in the ears managed?
The treatment of tinnitus (that’s what that ringing is called) will vary from person to person and depend significantly on the source of your hearing issues. But there are some common threads that can help you get ready for your own tinnitus treatment.
There are a couple of different kinds of tinnitus
Tinnitus is not unusual. There can be a number of causes for the ringing (or whatever tinnitus noises you’re hearing). So in terms of treatment, tinnitus is normally split into one of two categories:
- Medical Tinnitus: Some tinnitus symptoms are caused by an inherent medical problem, such as an ear infection, too much earwax, or a growth, among other conditions. Managing the underlying medical issue will normally be the priority of your medical professional.
- Non-Medical Tinnitus: “Non-medical” nomenclature is generally saved for tinnitus caused by damaged hearing or hearing loss. Over time, exposure to damaging noise (such as the noise at your construction site) can cause persistent, severe, and chronic tinnitus. It’s normally very difficult to manage non-medical tinnitus.
The best way to manage your symptoms will be determined by the root cause of your hearing issue and the kind of tinnitus you’re experiencing.
Treating medical tinnitus
Your medical tinnitus symptoms will usually go away when the root medical issue is treated. Here are some treatments for medical tinnitus:
- Antibiotics: If your tinnitus is a result of an ear infection (that is, a bacterial ear infection), your doctor might prescribe antibiotics. Your tinnitus symptoms will probably go away when the infection clears.
- Surgery: Doctors may decide to do surgery to remove any tumor or growth that could be causing your tinnitus symptoms.
- Hydrocortisone: Some kinds of infections will not react to antibiotics. For instance, antibiotics never work on viral infections. In these situations, your doctor might prescribe hydrocortisone to help you manage other symptoms.
You’ll want to make an appointment to get a consultation so we personalize a tinnitus treatment plan, especially if you’re dealing with medical tinnitus.
Non-medical tinnitus treatment options
The causes of non-medical tinnitus are frequently a lot harder to diagnose and treat than is typically the case with medical tinnitus. There’s normally no cure for non-medical tinnitus (especially in situations where the tinnitus is caused by hearing damage). Treatments, instead highlight alleviating symptoms and improving the quality of life.
- Medications: There are some experimental medications available for treating tinnitus. For example, steroids and anti-anxiety medication mixtures can sometimes help minimize tinnitus symptoms. But before you make any decisions, you’ll want to speak with us.
- Hearing aids: A hearing aid can help if your tinnitus is getting worse as your hearing gets worse. The tinnitus symptoms will likely seem louder because everything else gets quieter (because of hearing loss). A hearing aid can help hide the sound of your tinnitus by raising the volume of everything else.
- Noise-masking devices: These devices mask your tinnitus noises by producing enough white noise to allow the buzzing or ringing to fade into the background. These devices can be attenuated to produce specific sounds designed to offset your tinnitus symptoms.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy: You can get training that will help you learn to ignore your tinnitus sounds. This frequently used method has helped lots of people do just that.
Find what works
In order to successfully treat your hearing issues you will probably need to explore several approaches as the exact cause of your tinnitus probably won’t be obvious. Depending on the source of your ringing or buzzing, there might not be a cure for your tinnitus. But numerous different treatments are available that could reduce the symptoms. Finding the right one for you is the trick.