Can the sound disorder known as tinnitus be cured? Do you struggle with tinnitus? Is it affecting the way you sleep, work, and concentrate in your daily life? Experiencing tinnitus can be devastating for some. If you are among those suffering from the physical and mental issues that come with tinnitus, you might be looking for a cure.
(Source)
Unfortunately, tinnitus remains on the list of incurable health issues and disorders. However, modern treatment options lower the impact and effect of serious tinnitus symptoms, which helps many people cope and ignore the tinnitus noises.
While tinnitus may not permanently go away on its own, it gets better with proper treatment methods. For that reason, we will discuss the most effective methods of treatment and alleviating symptoms of tinnitus.
What Happens in Tinnitus?
Tinnitus sound disorder causes ringing in the ear without any external sound source. This can be debilitating as the affected person might be sleeping, working, or concentrating during any activity, and suddenly tinnitus sounds start buzzing in their ears.
Ringing in the ears is not the only sensation that tinnitus-affected people experience. In fact, several other sounds and sensations may occur in or both of the ears, depending on the severity of the condition.
- Humming
- Clicking
- Roaring
- Hissing
- Whistling
- Whooshing
Common causes of tinnitus include:
- Ear damage (infections, disorders, diseases, and other issues)
- Ear deformities
- Blood pressure disorders
- Auditory nerve tumors
- Exposure to loud sounds and noises
There are many other causes and factors that experts believe lead to tinnitus. Tinnitus doesn’t only impose physical complications, but it also causes severe mental issues like anxiety, depression, and stress at chronic stages. Therefore, it is imperative to find a remedy to lessen its effect and live a peaceful life while having tinnitus. Below are treatments that help in reducing the effect of tinnitus and managing it.
Treatments for Tinnitus
Medications
There aren’t any prescription drugs present to cure tinnitus currently. The most certain medications can alleviate the symptoms and reduce the effect and pressure of tinnitus noises on your mind and health. These medications work to ease your circulatory system, which puts you at ease and makes you comfortable. Moreover, medication also helps to prevent severe symptoms of tinnitus, such as stress, anxiety, and depression. These symptoms of chronic mental health issues can arise from prolonged exposure to tinnitus. Hence, they can lead to worsening overall health. Your tinnitus specialist might prescribe some medication to help you prevent just that.
Noise Blocking/Masking Devices
Your doctor or tinnitus specialist might suggest that you use noise-masking devices with other treatment methods. These devices mainly cover tinnitus sounds such as ringing, buzzing, whooshing, whistling, etc. Usually, you may wear these devices over or behind your ear to help as hearing aids.
Such devices include white noise machines, hearing aids, masking devices, and more. When these devices work, they can program certain frequencies to appear less bothersome. Furthermore, you can easily focus on the external sounds that you wish to focus on when these devices mask the unwanted noises.
(Source)
Therapies
Therapies include an extensive range of talkative exercises with a psychologist or psychotherapist. Moreover, therapies are effective in regulating your behavior, helping you rethink, and more importantly, they let you reconstruct your thought process, which no longer leads to negative reactions against tinnitus sounds and symptoms. Here are the two main types of tinnitus treatment therapies that cover a broad range of sub-types of therapies.
- Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)
In this therapy, your specialist will work closely to provide you directive counseling that will harmlessly alter your behavior in response to the tinnitus sounds and noises. Specific negative reactions and emotions can trigger when you constantly listen to tinnitus sounds. Therefore, masking devices play an important role in reducing the sounds while your receive directive counseling to gain the ability to perceive tinnitus noises as neutral signals.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
This process involves talk therapy with your specialist, who guides you on how to reimage and re-perceive the sounds of tinnitus in a neutral category. By closely educating you on tinnitus management and how your reactions form after listening to constant ringing, you are able to grasp the idea of reconstructing your thought process. By learning to ignore tinnitus sounds and hearing them as neutral sounds, you are able to cope with your daily routine much better.
- Tinnitus Sound Therapy
In tinnitus sound therapy, your therapist will provide you the confidence to ignore and perceive the tinnitus sounds as neutral and non-affecting signals, just like the other therapies. However, in this therapy, an audiologist will be present who will work extensively to provide you sound masking and notching devices that will let you cope with tinnitus. These devices range in broad categories, so your audiologist will help to find the best one for you.
Can Tinnitus Be Cured? Conclusion
Do you want to find a remedy to counter the tinnitus sounds and noises in one or both of your ears? The best approach in managing tinnitus is seeking the help of the right tinnitus specialist who focuses on this and associated conditions that accompany tinnitus. The right tinnitus specialist can guide you and help you cope with this disturbing condition.
Dr. Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R, has over 20 years of experience in clinical practice. Moreover, he specializes in treating and managing tinnitus and sound disorders in patients.
Call us at 646-213-2321 to schedule an online appointment today and for more information regarding tinnitus treatment services.
References
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2019.00802/full
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430809/#:~:text=Introduction,can%20arise%20from%20an%20aneurysm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3918281/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7927175/