Tinnitus facts
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease, and it has a variety of causes that may arise anywhere in the hearing mechanism. It begins in the ear with the tympanic membrane and the cochlea, where sound is transmitted into electrical energy for the brain to perceive.
What are the symptoms of tinnitus?
How is tinnitus diagnosed?
The patient's history and description of symptoms is the key in determining what might be causing tinnitus.
Your health-care professional will want to know the quality of the abnormal sound, and whether it is constantly present or if it comes and goes.
Each sound type may a give a clue as to the cause of tinnitus.
The patient's medications are often reviewed since tinnitus may be a side effect of many medications.
Physical examination usually focuseson the head and neck, including the ear canals and tympanic membranes. The cranial nerves are often examined to look for weakness in facial, mouth, and neck muscles or numbness in the face that might be associated with a tumor. Your health care professional may listen over the larger arteries in the neck trying to find an abnormal sound (bruit) that might be the cause of tinnitus.
An audiogram or hearing test may be performed to look for associated hearing loss. It may also note a change in hearing function between the ears that might offer a clue as to the cause.
Depending upon the situation, MRI scanning of the brain structures might be indicated, and consultations may be requested from a variety of specialists.
What are the treatments for tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a common complaint, and up to 20% of Americans have experienced it. This symptom may last for only weeks or months and then resolve spontaneously, though for some individuals it may last for years. The tinnitus may be significant enough to interfere with an individual's activities of daily living. For this reason, treatment may be directed at decreasing the effect of tinnitus on daily life. The depression and insomnia that are sometimes associated with tinnitus may also need to be addressed.
For the small number of patients who have a vascular cause for tinnitus, repairing the abnormal blood vessel may help reduce the noise.
For those patients whose tinnitus is caused by an adverse or toxic reaction to a medication, stopping the drug may allow the hearing mechanism to recover.
Tinnitus relief remedies
The following common and easy remedies may be of benefit to some individuals with tinnitus.
Tinnitus medications
There are few medications that seem to be effective in the treatment of tinnitus. Two that have shown some mild benefit include alprazolam (Xanax), a benzodiazepine that may also help with the anxiety and insomnia associated with tinnitus, and dexamethasone (Decadron), a steroid that can be injected into the inner ear to help decrease inflammation.
Depression is often associated with tinnitus, and antidepressant medications have worked in some instances to decrease the intensity or resolve the noise altogether.
Some small studies have suggested that the prostaglandin analogue, misoprostol (Cytotec), may be of some help for certain patients with tinnitus. Many other medications that have been used historically for tinnitus, however, have not demonstrated compelling evidence to necessarily recommend their routine use. These include lidocaine, anti-seizure medications, niacin, and other over-the-counter dietary and herbal supplements.
Tinnitus retraining therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy is a form of treatment that tries to retrain the nerve pathways associated with hearing to get the brain used to the abnormal sound. Habituation allows the brain to ignore the tinnitus noise signal, and it allows the patient to become unaware that it is present unless they specifically concentrate on the noise. This treatment involves counseling and the use of a sound generator that is worn. Audiologists and otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat specialists) often work together in offering this treatment.
Tinnitus relief therapy
In addition to tinnitus retraining therapy, other treatments exist which attempt to relieve tinnitus, and each patient may benefit differently depending upon the cause of the tinnitus and their response to treatment. Some options include the following:
Acupuncture
The use of acupuncture in the treatment of tinnitus has not demonstrated any definitive efficacious benefit when evidence from various studies has been reviewed.
What are the symptoms of tinnitus?
How is tinnitus diagnosed?
The patient's history and description of symptoms is the key in determining what might be causing tinnitus.
Your health-care professional will want to know the quality of the abnormal sound, and whether it is constantly present or if it comes and goes.
Each sound type may a give a clue as to the cause of tinnitus.
The patient's medications are often reviewed since tinnitus may be a side effect of many medications.
Physical examination usually focuseson the head and neck, including the ear canals and tympanic membranes. The cranial nerves are often examined to look for weakness in facial, mouth, and neck muscles or numbness in the face that might be associated with a tumor. Your health care professional may listen over the larger arteries in the neck trying to find an abnormal sound (bruit) that might be the cause of tinnitus.
An audiogram or hearing test may be performed to look for associated hearing loss. It may also note a change in hearing function between the ears that might offer a clue as to the cause.
Depending upon the situation, MRI scanning of the brain structures might be indicated, and consultations may be requested from a variety of specialists.
What are the treatments for tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a common complaint, and up to 20% of Americans have experienced it. This symptom may last for only weeks or months and then resolve spontaneously, though for some individuals it may last for years. The tinnitus may be significant enough to interfere with an individual's activities of daily living. For this reason, treatment may be directed at decreasing the effect of tinnitus on daily life. The depression and insomnia that are sometimes associated with tinnitus may also need to be addressed.
For the small number of patients who have a vascular cause for tinnitus, repairing the abnormal blood vessel may help reduce the noise.
For those patients whose tinnitus is caused by an adverse or toxic reaction to a medication, stopping the drug may allow the hearing mechanism to recover.
Tinnitus relief remedies
The following common and easy remedies may be of benefit to some individuals with tinnitus.
Tinnitus medications
There are few medications that seem to be effective in the treatment of tinnitus. Two that have shown some mild benefit include alprazolam (Xanax), a benzodiazepine that may also help with the anxiety and insomnia associated with tinnitus, and dexamethasone (Decadron), a steroid that can be injected into the inner ear to help decrease inflammation.
Depression is often associated with tinnitus, and antidepressant medications have worked in some instances to decrease the intensity or resolve the noise altogether.
Some small studies have suggested that the prostaglandin analogue, misoprostol (Cytotec), may be of some help for certain patients with tinnitus. Many other medications that have been used historically for tinnitus, however, have not demonstrated compelling evidence to necessarily recommend their routine use. These include lidocaine, anti-seizure medications, niacin, and other over-the-counter dietary and herbal supplements.
Tinnitus retraining therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy is a form of treatment that tries to retrain the nerve pathways associated with hearing to get the brain used to the abnormal sound. Habituation allows the brain to ignore the tinnitus noise signal, and it allows the patient to become unaware that it is present unless they specifically concentrate on the noise. This treatment involves counseling and the use of a sound generator that is worn. Audiologists and otolaryngologists (ear, nose and throat specialists) often work together in offering this treatment.
Tinnitus relief therapy
In addition to tinnitus retraining therapy, other treatments exist which attempt to relieve tinnitus, and each patient may benefit differently depending upon the cause of the tinnitus and their response to treatment. Some options include the following:
Acupuncture
The use of acupuncture in the treatment of tinnitus has not demonstrated any definitive efficacious benefit when evidence from various studies has been reviewed.
Source: http://www.rxlist.com
For the small number of patients who have a vascular cause for tinnitus, repairing the abnormal blood vessel may help reduce the noise.
For those patients whose tinnitus is caused by an adverse or toxic reaction to a medication, stopping the drug may allow the hearing mechanism to recover.
Source: http://www.rxlist.com
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