About Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a condition in which the sufferer has the perception of sound within the human ear (like ringing) when there are no external sounds actually present. Despite the origin of the name ( from the Latin tinnītus for ringing) "ringing" is just one of the many sounds the person may perceive.
Tinnitus is not a disease, but a condition that can result from a wide range of underlying causes. The condition is most common in patients with noise-induced hearing loss. Some other less common causes appear to be neurological damage (e.g. multiple sclerosis), ear infections, oxidative stress, anxiety, emotional stress, apnoea, foreign objects in the ear, earwax build-up and allergies. There are indications that benzodiazepines withdrawal may cause tinnitus as well. Tinnitus may be an accompaniment of sensorineural hearing loss or congenital hearing loss, or it may be observed as a side effect of certain medications (ototoxic tinnitus).
If there is an underlying cause, treating it may lead to improvements. For isolated tinnitus, talk therapy, sound therapy and laser therapy have been found to be effective. There is little medical support for medications.
There are two main types of tinnitus:
Subjective tinnitus
Objective tinnitus.
Tinnitus is usually a subjective phenomenon, such that it cannot be objectively measured. Subjective tinnitus is often rated clinically on a simple scale from "slight" to "catastrophic" according to the difficulties and limitations it imposes, such as interference with sleep, quiet activities, and normal daily tasks.
Subjective tinnitus has been also called "tinnitus aurium" "nonauditory" and "nonvibratory" tinnitus, objective tinnitus "pseudo-tinnitus" or "vibratory" tinnitus.
Tinnitus is not a disease, but a condition that can result from a wide range of underlying causes. The condition is most common in patients with noise-induced hearing loss. Some other less common causes appear to be neurological damage (e.g. multiple sclerosis), ear infections, oxidative stress, anxiety, emotional stress, apnoea, foreign objects in the ear, earwax build-up and allergies. There are indications that benzodiazepines withdrawal may cause tinnitus as well. Tinnitus may be an accompaniment of sensorineural hearing loss or congenital hearing loss, or it may be observed as a side effect of certain medications (ototoxic tinnitus).
If there is an underlying cause, treating it may lead to improvements. For isolated tinnitus, talk therapy, sound therapy and laser therapy have been found to be effective. There is little medical support for medications.
There are two main types of tinnitus:
Subjective tinnitus
Objective tinnitus.
Tinnitus is usually a subjective phenomenon, such that it cannot be objectively measured. Subjective tinnitus is often rated clinically on a simple scale from "slight" to "catastrophic" according to the difficulties and limitations it imposes, such as interference with sleep, quiet activities, and normal daily tasks.
Subjective tinnitus has been also called "tinnitus aurium" "nonauditory" and "nonvibratory" tinnitus, objective tinnitus "pseudo-tinnitus" or "vibratory" tinnitus.