Tinnitus Review

Definition

• Ringing in the ears without any outside sound.

• The sounds may be heard as a ringing, buzzing, roaring, clicking, and hissing sounds.

Who is Affected

• Older women • Tinnitus can worsen with age.

• 25 to 50 million people will experience some tinnitus.

Two Categories of Tinnitus

• Subjective Tinnitus• The perception of

sound without an outside noise and heard only by the sufferer.

• Objective Tinnitus• The doctor can hear

the sound using a stethoscope that may be caused by “turbulent” blood flow or by spontaneous contractions of the muscles in the soft palate or middle ear.

Where does tinnitus occurs

What can cause tinnitus

Treatment of Tinnitus

• If there is no underlying condition for tinnitus then the tinnitus has to be treated.

• One treatment is to use sound therapy to mask the tinnitus and decrease the phantom sounds

• If there is an underlying condition, then the underlying problem must be treated.

• The tinnitus will usually disappear when the underlying condition is taken care of