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| Article: What is Tinnitus? - by John Currie | ||
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TINNITUS It always amazes me at just how many emails we get every day from newly diagnosed tinnitus sufferers. A central theme that many of these often panicked and traumatized patients write about is the seemingly uncaring attitude that some general practioners and ENT's have when informing one that you have tinnitus! Often they are simply told that they will have to "live with these noises", "there is nothing one can do", etc. etc. Very little is explained to them and they are simply fobbed off with some anti-depressants and told to get on with it. Little wonder then that these people end up getting anxiety and panic attacks, and end up far too stressed as a result of lack of sleep, worry and those horrible continual noises that just never seem to go away. The problem of course is that as one becomes more stressed, the more the tinnitus increases in volume and intensity. There seems to be no way out of the spiral! This is obviously not the case. With a little understanding of what tinnitus is, what causes it and how to cope with it, comes a relieving of the stress, your sleep patterns revert to normal and life starts getting back to normal again. This article is intended to help you get to grips with what this condition known as tinnitus really is and what you can do about it. Tinnitus is best described as the perception of noise in the absence of any acoustic stimulus. When you hear those noises, be they a ringing in your ears, whistling, hissing or roaring noises in the ears, you are experiencing tinnitus. These noises, which every one experiences somewhat differently, are subjective. i.e. only you can hear them. They cannot be heard by anyone else and NO, you are not going crazy! Tinnitus is experienced by most people at some time in their lives, but some 17% of the general population suffer quite severely from this condition. Some 12 million Americans are so severely affected by tinnitus that they are unable to function normally. They are unable to live normal lives, go to work, just can't sleep, and suffer severely from stress and anxiety. It is estimated that up to 66 million Americans suffer from tinnitus of some sort. Objective tinnitus can be heard by the physician or other people and is not very common. Subjective tinnitus is far more common than objective tinnitus and is the type of tinnitus that is more difficult to treat. Tinnitus Causes There are many factors that can trigger or aggravate tinnitus. By far the great majority of tinnitus sufferers have somehow damaged the delicate structures of the inner ear, resulting in in damage to the cochlea, the cochlear nerve, the ascending auditory pathway, or the auditory cortex. When the cochlear hair cells are injured by exposure to noise noise or head trauma, they discharge repetitively, thereby stimulating the nerve fibers to discharge synchronously in a way that the central auditory system cannot discriminate from actual sound. This can be likened to a switch being left in the on position. i.e. Those hairs that are damaged are permanently in the "on" position, resulting in a continuous stream of perceived sounds being generated. Another cause of tinnitus is presbycusis (hearing loss that occurs as people age). Hearing loss is the single most consistent factor in people with tinnitus. As a rule the tinnitus will occur at the same frequencies as the hearing loss. Sinusitis and allergy sufferers also frequently suffer from tinnitus. This tinnitus "type" is caused from blocked eustachian tubes, which results in a pressure buildup in the inner ear. This condition is normally caused by prolonged taking of anti-histamines and antibiotics which can cause a thickening of the mucous in the inner ear. Excess inner ear mucous would normally simply drain out through the Eustachian tubes but is prevented from doing so because it has become to thick to drain out of the very narrow Eustachian tubes. Another major cause of tinnitus is a long continued exposure to stress or traumatic events such as the death of a loved one. Thyroid dysfunction is definitely associated with tinnitus. When the thyroid produces too much thyroid hormone, this is a condition known as Hyperthyroidism. These additional hormones have a direct effect on most bodily organs, including the heart which beats faster and harder under the influence of thyroid hormones. Hyperthyroidism, by increasing cardiac output, can cause a pulsatile or rushing noise. Vitamin A and/or B12 deficiency has been described as causing tinnitus. Many prescription medications list tinnitus as a side effect. These include anti-malarials, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and antidepressants. Aspirin and aspirin-containing compounds were identified as the most common inciting medications. As little as 600 to 1000 mm/day of aspirin can create symptoms. Aspirin-containing medications, such as Percodan, Darvon, Bufferin, or Ecotrin, are often overlooked as possible causes of tinnitus. A golden rule here is to read the literature supplied with your prescription carefully. If you notice the onset of tinnitus after starting a course of drugs, or after you have changed to a different brand of drug, then it is most likely that medication that is causing the tinnitus as a side effect. Many types of head surgery, included dental surgery such as root canal treatments also play a major role in causing tinnitus. This is normally associated with cochlear damage as a result of the noises you are exposed to during the procedure. Heavy metal poisoning from fillings in the teeth are also a very common cause of tinnitus. This generally occurs when one is replacing old fillings. The important thing now to do is to narrow down the possible causes of your tinnitus. Once one has established fairly conclusively what the ROOT CAUSE of the tinnitus is, then it becomes far easier to deal with. Our web site lists many probable causes and treatments for tinnitus. |
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John Currie. |
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