It’s not unusual for people to have ringing in their ears, also called tinnitus. It’s one of the most prevalent health conditions in the world with some estimates indicating that up to 10 percent of the population experiences it at one point or another. The condition manifests as a sound in the ear that isn’t really there, normally, it’s a buzzing or ringing, but tinnitus can manifest as other sounds too.
Sadly, the causes of tinnitus aren’t as evident as the symptoms. In part, that’s because tinnitus could be caused by a wide variety of causes, some of which are temporary and others that can be more long lasting.
This is why environmental factors can Have a major impact on tinnitus symptoms. After all, every setting has a soundscape, and when that soundscape is noisy, you might be doing damage to your ears. If your tinnitus is a result of damage, it could end up being permanent.
What is tinnitus (and why is it so common)?
When you hear noises that aren’t really present, that’s tinnitus. For most individuals, tinnitus manifests as a ringing or buzzing, but it may also present as thumping, humming, screeching, or other noises as well. Usually, the sounds are steady or rhythmic. For most people, tinnitus will manifest over a short period of time before resolving itself and vanishing. In less common cases, tinnitus could become effectively permanent, a condition known as chronic tinnitus.
There are a couple of reasons why tinnitus is so common. Firstly, environmental factors that can contribute to tinnitus are fairly prevalent. Root conditions and injuries can contribute to tinnitus symptoms and that accounts for the second reason. And there are quite a few conditions and injuries that can trigger tinnitus. Tinnitus is rather common for these reasons.
How is tinnitus affected by environmental factors?
There are a wide variety of factors that can bring about tinnitus symptoms, including ototoxic chemicals and medications. But when it involves “environmental” triggers, noise is the biggest culprit. For example, some locations are louder than others (traffic noise in some areas can get exceptionally high). Someone would be in danger of environmental tinnitus, for example, if they worked around loud industrial equipment.
When assessing the state of your health, these environmental factors are extremely important.
As with hearing loss, noise-induced damage can eventually cause tinnitus symptoms. In these cases, the resulting tinnitus is often chronic in nature. Some of the most common noise and environment-induced causes of tinnitus include the following:
- Noise in the workplace: Many workplaces, including offices, are often the source of loud noises. Tinnitus can eventually result from being in these places for eight hours a day, whether it’s industrial equipment or the din of lots of people talking in an office.
- Traffic: Traffic in heavily populated locations can be a lot louder than you might expect it to be. And you might not even recognize that your ears can be damaged at lower volumes than you might expect. Tinnitus and hearing damage can be the result of long commutes in these loud settings.
- Music: Listening to music at high volumes is a fairly common practice. Tinnitus will frequently be the outcome if you do this regularly.
- Events: Tinnitus can sometimes be caused by loud noises, even if they aren’t experienced over a long duration. For instance, attending a concert or using firearms can both result in tinnitus if the volumes reach a high enough level.
Damage to the ears can occur at a much lower volume than people usually expect. Consequently, it’s essential to use hearing protection before you think you may need it. Hearing protection can help you avoid tinnitus symptoms from developing in the first place.
What should I do if I’m experiencing tinnitus?
Will tinnitus clear up by itself? Maybe, in some cases. In other situations, your symptoms could be irreversible. There’s no way to know which is which at the outset. If you have tinnitus caused by noise damage, even if your tinnitus does clear up, your risk of having your tinnitus come back and become chronic is a lot more probable.
People tend to underestimate the minimum volume that damage starts to happen, which is the most significant contributing factor to its development. If you experience tinnitus, your body is telling you that damage has already likely happened. This means that there are several things that you should do to change your environment so as to prevent more irreparable damage.
Here are a few tips you can try:
- Prevent damage by using hearing protection like earplugs or earmuffs. You can also get some amount of protection from noise canceling headphones.
- Limiting the amount of time you spend in noisy environments without giving your ears a chance to recuperate.
- If possible, try to lower environmental volume. If you have any machinery that isn’t in use, turn it off, and shut the windows if it’s noisy outside, for example.
How to handle your symptoms
The symptoms of tinnitus are frequently a huge distraction and are really unpleasant for the majority of people who deal with them. Because of this, they frequently ask: how do you quiet tinnitus?
If you hear a ringing or buzzing sound, it’s important to set up an appointment, especially if the sound won’t go away. We can help you figure out the best way to address your specific situation. There’s no cure for most kinds of chronic tinnitus. Symptom management might include the following:
- Retraining therapy: In some situations, you can work with a specialist to retrain your ears, gradually changing the way you process sound.
- Masking device: This is a device that fits similarly to a hearing aid and plays sounds to mask your symptoms. Your device will be specifically calibrated to mask your symptoms of tinnitus.
- Relaxation techniques: High blood pressure has sometimes been linked to an increase in the severity of tinnitus symptoms. So taking a little time to relax (with meditation, for instance) can sometimes help diminish your tinnitus symptoms.
- White noise devices: In some cases, you can tune out some of your tinnitus symptoms by utilizing a white noise generator around your house.
- Hearing aid: This can help amplify other sounds and, as a result, drown out the ringing or buzzing created by tinnitus.
Tinnitus has no cure. That’s why controlling your environment to protect your hearing is a practical first step.
But tinnitus can be managed and treated. Depending on your lifestyle, your hearing, and your tinnitus, we’ll be able to develop a specific treatment plan for you. A white noise machine, for many, might be all that’s necessary. For other people, management might be more intense.
Set up an appointment to find out how to regulate your tinnitus symptoms.