Should you be worried about ringing in your ears?

It’s not uncommon to experience ringing in the ears after attending a loud concert or sporting event, but you may be wondering if this side effect is alarming. The good news is that the ringing, called tinnitus, is temporary for most people. Yet the Journal of American Medical Association estimates that for about 14 percent of the population, the sound never stops.

Many describe it as a ringing sound, but for others it may be a constant buzzing, roaring, or whistling sound. While most people learn to ignore it, it can cause anxiety, insomnia, and even depression for some.

What are the causes of tinnitus?

Recent research from Nature supports a theory that describes tinnitus as a phantom sound created by the brain to indicate that there is damage somewhere in the hearing system. In more than 90% of cases, it is the direct result of a rupture of the nerves from the ear to the brain.

Noisy events aren’t the only culprits, either. It can also occur due to aging, head or neck trauma, certain medications, and even viruses, like COVID-19.

Clinical audiologist, Dr. Layne Garrett, has been treating patients with tinnitus for over 25 years. He explains: “It’s pretty simple when you think about it. Our brains are used to receiving certain types of sound stimulation. When damage occurs in our hearing system, also called hearing loss, the brain no longer receives that stimulation.”

Tinnitus is your brain’s way of filling that void.

“The brain tries to compensate for this loss with increased activity, which is registered to us as a ringing, whistling, buzzing, or other phantom sound,” says Garrett.

Tinnitus test

This type of hearing damage can be difficult to detect during a pure current sound test because these tests do not account for higher frequency losses where the problem may occur. In the Nature study, researchers placed electrodes on participants’ ear canals to measure the activity of the auditory system in response to certain sounds. This is also known as the auditory brainstem response (ABR) test.

The study results showed that there was significantly less activity in the auditory system in participants with tinnitus than in those without it. This suggests that people with tinnitus have damaged auditory nerves that no longer send signals to their brain, potentially triggering this phantom sound response.

How one patient found relief from his tinnitus

Lynda is one of Garrett’s patients who made an appointment after suffering from debilitating tinnitus for almost 50 years. Medical professionals told her there was nothing she could do but learn to cope. After seeing an article about Timpanogos Hearing & Tinnitus, she called and made an appointment.

Lynda began treatment and within a few weeks she was already feeling considerable relief. She was finally able to sleep at night and found that her hearing and energy levels had improved significantly.

“I arrived and was fitted with hearing aids from day one,” Lynda recalls. “And it was almost immediate that the hearing, it didn’t seem louder, but I couldn’t hear the ringing in my ears. And that’s a miracle to me. It really is. “

Why treatment is important

If left untreated, this condition can lead to much more serious problems. A recent study published in Frontiers in Neuroscience showed a strong association between tinnitus and a high risk of dementia-compromised learning, auditory attention, anxiety, depression and poor sleep quality.

Although there is no cure for tinnitus, there are effective treatment options to significantly reduce or even eliminate the symptoms. Garrett, who recently presented his treatment results at a national tinnitus convention at the Harvard Club in Boston, says his clinics use a two-pronged approach to treating tinnitus.

“Tinnitus most often has physiological components (such as hearing loss) as well as negative emotional components, and we find that the most effective treatment explains both,” says Garrett. “This means starting with a comprehensive assessment to determine exactly what damage has occurred and what effects that damage is having on your hearing and cognition.”

After identifying the damage, Garrett and his team use special hearing technology to reintroduce the brain’s missing stimulation into the damaged nerves. The second part of the treatment plan includes an eight-week online tinnitus coping program to help patients understand and cope with the emotional and cognitive effects of the condition.

Get relief from ringing in your ears

Lynda’s story is no different than many other patients who have found relief at Timpanogos Hearing & Tinnitus. If you would like to learn more about tinnitus treatment or see if you qualify for a tinnitus evaluation, visit www.tinnitusutah.com or call 801-770-0801.