Tinnitus (from Latin tinnitus ‘ringing’), also known as ringing in the ears is a sound only experienced by the person himself and it is perceived as a squeaky, deep bass and/or roaring. It may vary in strength and intensity.
Causes and symptoms
The causes of tinnitus can be many, but the most common cause is noise damage and noise trauma where hearing is exposed to loud sounds. Other causes may include medication, brain damage, high blood pressure and tense neck or jaw muscles. It is customary to divide the subjective tinnitus (the most common, as you can hear yourself) and objective (which others can hear). Tinnitus can have a variety of ways, the most common is a squeaky high-pitched tone, but also noise and hiss. Common symptoms include sleep problems, concentration problems and depression. Most people do not have any major problems and can sleep as usual after a few months of adjustment.
Tinnitus symptoms can be roughly divided into three categories.
Faint murmur – which is only perceived when it is really quiet.
Ringing – that affect their daily lives.
Loud noises – affects general behavior like for example concentration difficulties and sleep problems.
History
Tinnitus has always existed and is documented as early as the time of Pharaoh. In the 1960s tinnitus counted as a mental illness and it was not until the 2000s they really understood that tinnitus is a symptom of a hearing loss of some kind. Even today, one can not say for sure why one hears sounds in the head, sounds that are not really there. Research suggest, however, that the pulse signals that go to and from the brain via the auditory nerve have been messed up. However, this is controversial.
A few years ago it was noise in the industry that caused the tinnitus, while recent years it is leisure noise. Vulnerable groups are hunters, soldiers, hobby shooters and musicians. New research shows that school children are increasingly suffering from tinnitus. The cause is believed to be due to harmful loud sound when listening to music. Stage appearances by musical groups or artists and the music at the gym often produce harmful high noise levels, which makes for tinnitus and also the public hearing loss. Even a fortissimo tutti in a classical symphony orchestra can produce harmful high noise levels, which could ultimately lead to tinnitus for both the orchestra members themselves and to the audience.
Treatment of tinnitus is often psychological counseling to deal with the sounds, stress and anxiety that come with it. The psychological treatment is called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In some cases severe tinnitus is treated with TRT.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) is a treatment that takes 12-18 months to complete. For more severe tinnitus the limbic and central nervous system has become activated habitually in large part, and the treatment is to train the brain to filter out the tinnitus by converting the highly negatively associated tinnitus signal to something neutral. In most cases the perceived noise level and attention to the sound drops significantly. Practically the TRT is done by adding ambient sound around the clock, in some cases sound stimulators, small appliances that are secured behind the ears and providing a neutral whirring noise.
TRT was invented by Dr. Pavel Jastreboff in the early 1990s. The treatment provides clinically good results in 85% of patients, defined as at least 40% reduction in symptoms.
Herbal tinnitus treatments and homeopathic tinnitus remedies. You can for example use the popular Gingko Biloba said to cure some types of tinnitus. This tinnitus treatment works on those who suffer from insufficient blood supply to the inner ear. The effect of Gingko Biloba will help to increase the blood flow to the inner ear. But before you take gingko biloba, consult your doctor first especially if you have disturbance of blood circulation or if you take other medicine. Other examples of natural remedies include sesame seeds, goldenseal, spinach, juice from onion (squeeze out a few drops in the affected ear) and rosemary.
Holistic based tinnitus treatment involves taking a balanced approach to the treatment of the body as a whole, by eating a healthy diet, meditation, acupuncture, yoga, massage, acupressure. This requires a change in your lifestyle. What then happens is that in addition to just get a tinnitus treatment, you also get a healthier life.
Classical homeopathy is a gentle form of treatment that helps the mind and body to come into balance and enhances the body’s own healing ability. In homeopathy man is seen as a whole – body and soul belong together. Homeopathic treatment is tried and tested worldwide. The homeopathic medicines are made from substances from nature through a special method called potentiation. Homeopathic remedies come with no side effects if used correctly.
Auriculotherapy is based on the unique knowledge of how the nervous system can be influenced by pain, psychological, hormonal, acute and chronic diseases. “Auris” means ear in Latin. It is a treatment that uses reflex points in the ear. Acupuncture needles in the ears is, usually of a kind that may be left a few weeks. The effect is amplified when combined with herbal medicine. With this method, pains and muscle tension, and their causes can be eliminated.
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