Understanding Tinnitus: Causes, Treatments, and Coping Strategies

Rustling, hissing, roaring, popping, or other ̶0;phantom noises̶1; can pose a constant annoyance to people with a hearing disorder known as tinnitus. Medical treatment can either remove the cause of the tinnitus or help the patient cope with it.

Tinnitus

• Tinnitus, or unnatural noise in the ears, affects up to 25 million people in the U.S., according to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders.

Hearing Damage

• Exposure to high levels of noise can cause hearing damage. This damage sometimes causes the hearing cells in the ear to send false information to the brain in the form of tinnitus, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Medical Conditions

• Tinnitus can stem from earwax buildup, abnormalities in the heart or blood vessels, allergies, medications or tumors.

Diagnosis

• A doctor can eliminate existing health conditions or medications as a possible cause of the tinnitus. An audiologist can check for signs of hearing loss that might accompany tinnitus.

Treatment

• If preliminary treatment of tinnitus fails to resolve the condition, patients may have to try drugs, counseling, relaxation techniques, or electronic sound-masking devices to help them live with it.