Have
you experienced ringing in the ear? Or any other sounds like clicking or
buzzing especially in quiet environment? Afraid not, you are not alone and that
is called Tinnitus. In some
condition, the tinnitus can lasts for more than minutes or even all the time.
So, what exactly is tinnitus? According to American Speech-language and Hearing
Association, tinnitus is defined as ringing in the ears when there are no other
sound are present. Tinnitus is not a disease
but a symptom of an underlying health condition in most cases and the most popular
tinnitus often associated to:
·
Hearing loss
·
Obstruction of middle
ear
·
Neck and head trauma
·
Temporomandibular Joint
disorder
·
Sinus Pressure and
Barometric Trauma
·
Traumatic Brain Injury
·
Ototoxic Drug
·
Other disease and
medical condition.
Tinnitus
can be divided into 2 categories:
· Objective Tinnitus – physician or doctor and patient can
hear the tinnitus. Usually is associated with obstruction of abnormal blood
flow in head area.
· Subjective Tinnitus: Only patient can hear the tinnitus.
Tinnitus
cannot harm people. But the effect of the tinnitus can be harmful as it effect
the quality of life. Based on a
survey done by American Tinnitus Association in 2014, people with tinnitus
often experienced distress, depression, anxiety,
sleep disturbances and also irritability or frustration. And these will
affect the quality of life of the person.
For
people who are having tinnitus, it is advisable
to reduce caffeine intact, control
your stress level, have enough sleeping, increase antioxidant food, and seek
advice from the professionals.
We,
audiologists at Eartistic, are here to help anyone with tinnitus as we provide
· Full hearing evaluation
· Tinnitus assessment
· Customised tinnitus management along with hyperacusis
· Counseling
If
you have this tinnitus or think you may have tinnitus, please seek help as you
are not alone. We are here to help you.
Written
by,
Amirul
Asyraf Jamaludin
Audiologist JB branch
Reference
Tinnitus
by American Speech-language and Hearing Association, retrieved from https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Tinnitus/
The
Human Impact on Tinnitus by American Tinnitus Association, retrieved from https://www.ata.org/understanding-facts/impact-tinnitus
