What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is defined as involuntary noise originating inside the head. It can be described as buzzing, chirping, ringing or humming, intermittent or constant, loud or soft. 10-15% of the world’s population suffers from these unwanted sounds which can be so intrusive as to interfere with work, sleep and general well-being.
How can Cornerstone Audiology help?
Our Doctors are trained to not only help rule out serious causes for your tinnitus, but also to help you manage your tinnitus. Patients with tinnitus should be seen for a simple hearing evaluation as a first step to benefit from relief and explore their options.
What practical solutions are available for patients with tinnitus?
There are many practical solutions for helping our patients who suffer from tinnitus. Reducing caffeine, sodium and stress are some examples of helpful ways to manage your tinnitus. Many people find that avoiding quiet environments is helpful for reducing their disturbance from tinnitus. Classical music, talk radio, audio books, environmental sound machines/apps, running a fan have also been useful.
Patients should avoid things that make their tinnitus worse such as smoking, alcohol and loud noise. Wearing custom hearing protection or ear muffs in loud environments can help to protect your hearing as well as prevent your tinnitus from getting worse.
What if those things are not enough?
Many patients who also experience hearing loss may benefit from a combination instrument (both a hearing aid and sound generator). This type of device works to amplify sounds necessary to help a patient hear their best while producing a customized sound during quiet times in order to help the patient avoid fixation on the ringing sound they hear.
Our Doctors at Cornerstone Audiology specialize in helping these patients with tinnitus and hearing loss and offer solutions that are specific to each individual’s concerns. With today’s technology and wireless features, many creative solutions (i.e. music, streaming different apps from your mobile device) can benefit patients with tinnitus. Often times tinnitus treatment is a collaborative effort with other professionals to maximize success.