Tinnitus is a common symptom affecting between 10% and 25% of adults. While many people experience it, no two cases are the same.
Understanding how severe your tinnitus is can help your hearing specialist offer personalized management suggestions.
Judging Tinnitus Severity
If you’ve noticed ringing or buzzing in your ears, start a note on your phone or in a notebook and write down how it fits into each of these three categories:
- Frequency and environment. Write the date, time and circumstances of your tinnitus. For example, if it only popped up once after attending a concert at The Birchmere, write that down. This will help determine whether it’s a repeated issue or just a temporary hearing shift after loud noise exposure.
- Duration. Note down how long each tinnitus bout lasts. Ringing that lasts more than a couple of seconds, especially in the absence of loud noise exposure, could signal lasting hearing damage.
- Impact. Understanding the impact of tinnitus on your life is a crucial step in effective management. You may notice that the ringing makes it difficult to fall asleep or concentrate, or that you find yourself more irritable than usual. Write down your reactions to the ringing whenever it arises to help us guide you toward the right management techniques.
Managing Tinnitus
While tinnitus has no known cure, there are a couple of ways you can minimize its impact on your life, including:
- Sound masking. Soothing, external sounds will distract your brain from the internal ringing of tinnitus. Many people find relief with white noise machines, sound therapy apps or hearing aids. If you already wear hearing aids, check their app for a tinnitus masking feature. Even if they don’t have a specific feature, you can still listen to white noise through them by using the Bluetooth® on your phone.
- Therapy. There are two forms of tinnitus therapy: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT). CBT teaches you techniques to redirect negative reactions to the ringing, making it feel less intrusive. TRT combines sound therapy with guided counseling to help your brain gradually tune out tinnitus.
If tinnitus is negatively impacting your life, contact ENT Specialists Of Northern Virginia today to schedule a consultation with one of our specialists.