Navigating Tinnitus: Understanding, Coping, and Seeking Relief

Tinnitus is the medical term for ringing or buzzing in the ears. Almost 19 million people in Germany have experienced tinnitus, mostly and fortunately only temporarily. Tinnitus is often experienced as whistling, hissing, hissing, or buzzing. The most diverse noises in the head or the ears have one thing in common: apart from rare exceptions, only the affected person hears them. Read here how tinnitus occurs and what you can do about it.

Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease.

Ringing or ringing in the ears is a symptom comparable to pain or fever. Tinnitus is also a warning sign that we have taken on too much – physically or mentally. Therefore, the tinnitus symptom should not be treated as urgent; instead, the causes should be eliminated. This is all the more important because tinnitus can, in turn, lead to numerous psychological and physical complaints. Examples of these complaints are sleeping problems, lack of concentration, anxiety, depression or stress.

 

Causes and risk factors

Several tinnitus triggers are known, and some others are suspected. Nevertheless, the exact cause or trigger often needs to be clarified. In this case, one speaks of an idiopathic tinnitus.

If you get to the bottom of possible causes, you must first differentiate between objective and subjective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus can also be heard from other people or imaged by medical measurements. The tinnitus is often clicking or pulsating.

Possible causes of objective tinnitus are:

• Movements of the muscles in the inner ear
• constricted blood vessels
• Heart valve diseases 
• anemia _

A subjective tinnitus can only be heard by the person affected. Nor can it be measured by medical devices. The possible causes are remarkably diverse.

Among other things, the following come into question:

• Inflammation of the ear or the respiratory tract
• Noise damage (blast trauma or constant exposure to noise),
• diving accidents
• organic diseases such as autoimmune diseases
• tumours of the auditory nerve
• side effects of medication
• Problems with the cervical spine or in the tooth and jaw area

Tinnitus is also often an accompanying symptom of Meniere‘s disease, associated with rotary vertigo and sudden hearing loss. Alcohol, nicotine, various foods and – above all – stress are also discussed as influencing and risk factors.

Diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus

Circulatory disorders in the inner ear are primarily held responsible as the mechanism by which tinnitus develops; it may also be due to unfavorable signal processing in the brain.

A doctor should examine a longer-lasting tinnitus. A physical examination usually follows after a conversation about the history of the disease (anamnesis interview). This involves examining the ears, sinuses and throat. Listening to the blood flow in the ear and carotid artery can determine a possible narrowing of the vessels. Hearing and function tests on the auditory ossicles and nerves are also part of the diagnosis.

Depending on the cause, tinnitus can be treated well. More often, however, no direct triggers are found at all. In both cases, the ringing in the ear can subside completely – spontaneously or with the help of therapy.

However, sometimes the tinnitus persists – the longer the tinnitus lasts, the more likely this becomes. From three months, one speaks of chronic tinnitus. After three to twelve months, there are hardly any sufferers whose tinnitus disappears again, meaning they have to learn to live with it.

 

Acute tinnitus

Medical advice should be sought if ringing or ringing in the ears occurs for the first time and does not go away after a few hours or a whole night’s sleep. If there are other symptoms, such as hearing loss or dizziness, seek medical help immediately. The sooner treatment begins, the better the chances the tinnitus will disappear.

The chance of healing is most significant in the first three months. If there are no organic causes or these have been adequately treated, the doctor will usually initiate infusion therapy. The aim is to improve blood circulation in the inner ear. In the case of jaw or cervical spine complaints, physiotherapeutic procedures can also be initiated promptly. If this therapy is unsuccessful, inpatient treatment may be an option.

Other possible causes can be diagnosed in special clinics, and other therapeutic approaches, such as pressure chamber therapy, also known as HBO therapy (hyperbaric oxygen therapy), can be applied. This should increase the oxygen supply in the vessels of the inner ear. Another method is low-level laser therapy, formerly also called soft laser therapy. The new generation of cells in the inner ear is to be stimulated by the laser beam. So far, however, there has been no scientific proof of the effectiveness of both methods for tinnitus.

Many of those affected also have the opportunity to relax far away from the stress and hectic pace of everyday life and concentrate on themselves and their health. Clinics with an interdisciplinary, holistic therapy concept can find and treat various health disorders, individual risk factors, and thus deeper causes of tinnitus.

Chronic tinnitus

If the noises in the ear last for more than three months, they are less likely to go away. This condition is called chronic tinnitus. Nevertheless, those affected can lead a carefree and fulfilling life. The term “chronic tinnitus” means that persistent or recurring ringing in the ears is present. It does not say that the person concerned suffers or is ill because of it.

However, tinnitus can take on the character of an illness if it becomes a severe burden of daily life and if further complaints result from it. Tinnitus then becomes the noise of the soul.

Consequences of tinnitus can be, for example:

• difficulty concentrating
• difficulty falling asleep
• Hypersensitivity to loud noises (hyperacusis)
• depressive phases
• Restriction of social contacts
• temporary loss of self-confidence

Living with tinnitus

Even with chronic tinnitus, there is a lot that can be done. It is essential to confront resignation and fear – often also due to a lack of incorrect information – and learn to live with the tinnitus. In most cases, tinnitus becomes bearable: education and self-help groups let it fade into the background.

Most affected people accept the ringing in the ears by consciously devoting their attention to important things or other noises. This is then referred to as compensated tinnitus. Sometimes, this learning process to a tolerable tinnitus takes time; some also need therapeutic help. Nevertheless, many sufferers master living with their tinnitus.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy has proven to be an effective measure to improve the quality of life in chronic tinnitus and to reduce depressive moods. In any case, it is essential to reduce stress as much as possible, not isolate yourself, and do as much good for yourself as possible.