Are You Suffering From Any of These Symptoms as a Result of Tinnitus? Call Today for a Consultation.
■ Mild to severe anxiety
■ Depression
■ Insomnia
■ Negative thinking
■ Triggered fight or flight
■ Crying spells
■ Hopelessness
■ Ringing in the ears
■ Suicidal thoughts
Are you growing more isolated? Do you feel like life will never be the same? Are you refraining from activities that you enjoy? Are you fearful of losing your job? Do you find that your thoughts tend to be negative?
If you answered yes to 3 or more of these questions or symptoms, then we can help. You may be a candidate for Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy, or TCRT.
With over 20 years of clinical experience, Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R developed Tinnitus Cognitive Retraining Therapy and founded the Tinnitus Cognitive Center™ in response to the growing number of Tinnitus sufferers coming to his private practice.
He discovered that by helping people to retrain and reinterpret the thoughts around their Tinnitus, anxiety and depression symptoms began to improve. But even more important so did the Tinnitus.
Can you have tinnitus in one ear only? Tinnitus is a hearing condition that affects a person hearing sounds that do not exist. You might be suffering from tinnitus if you experience sounds or noise in your ear and head that you’re sure are not actually occurring in your surrounding environment.
The quality, type, frequency, and loudness of the sound vary from person to person. While some hear a constant ringing in their ears, others also report whistling, hissing, chirping sounds, etc. On the other hand, tinnitus can be constant or intermittent and steady or pulsating.
The most common cause behind tinnitus is hearing loss, but various other health complications can also lead to this condition. However, the causes of tinnitus can be different from tinnitus in both ears. Read on to learn more about the condition.
Tinnitus in One Ear Only (Unilateral Tinnitus)
Tinnitus in one ear is also known as unilateral tinnitus, which is less common than bilateral tinnitus (ringing in both ears). Tinnitus conditions that require medical evaluation and treatment include pulsatile tinnitus, tinnitus with dizziness, and unilateral tinnitus. These types of tinnitus can indicate serious underlying health conditions, which makes them especially important for medical evaluation.
Causes of Unilateral Tinnitus
A variety of health conditions can trigger unilateral tinnitus. Make sure you seek medical help if you’re experiencing tinnitus in one ear, as it can signify one of the following conditions.
Earwax
Although not dangerous, unilateral tinnitus is most commonly the result of earwax (cerumen) building up in the ear canal. Excess earwax production can block the sound waves from reaching the inner ear, also causing hearing loss. But earwax buildup contributes to tinnitus due to the pressure on the inner ear. You might need to clean the ear wax out to relieve your condition in this case.
Benign Ear Cysts
Cells in your ear can clump together, creating air and fluid-filled sacs called benign ear cysts. Also scientifically known as cholesteatoma, the cysts can significantly contribute to unilateral tinnitus. The air or fluid-filled sacs eventually build pressure as they grow from the eardrum towards the middle and inner ear. Other symptoms of benign ear cysts include fluid leakage and face numbness.
Cancer
As you might have already learned, anything that adds pressure to your inner ear can be a symptom of tinnitus. So, a tumor or cancer can disrupt the nerves in your ear, creating pressure and resulting in unilateral tinnitus. Not to mention, the cancerous cells can also interfere with the function of your auditory nerves. Mostly, unilateral tinnitus is an indication of head or neck tumors.
Meniere’s disease is characterized by fluid buildup inside the inner ear. Although the cause of Meniere’s disease remains unknown, the condition often leads to tinnitus and episodes of vertigo. It causes pressure in the ear, which triggers our worsening tinnitus. Make sure you see a doctor immediately to rule out the condition and its effects.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis or MS is a health condition that causes your body to attack its healthy nerve sheaths. It disrupts and damages your brain’s communication with the rest of the body. This also leads to auditory nerve damage that interferes with the signals flowing between your brain and ears. MS can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus in one ear.
Tinnitus in One Ear Only? Conclusion
Tinnitus can affect one or both your ears, depending on the cause behind your condition. Regardless, unilateral tinnitus can indicate serious health conditions like cysts, cancer, Meniere’s Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis.
Make sure you seek medical evaluation from the top tinnitus and misophonia specialist Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R. Schedule an easy online session today.
Tinnitus Cognitive Center ™
Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R 19 West 34th Street Penthouse Floor New York, NY 10001
Call today for an expert consultation 646-213-2321
A person with tinnitus usually hears a ringing sound in their ears. However, this is not always the case. They may also hear whistling, clicking, and hissing sounds. This condition can be temporary or persistent and chronic. Tinnitus only affects 50 million people in America. It mostly occurs in people 50 years or above, but adolescents and children may also experience this condition.
Common causes of tinnitus are cumulative or excessive exposure to noise, ear infections, or neck and head injury. Sometimes, it may indicate a serious medical condition. Tinnitus has no cure, but ENT specialists can suggest various ways to manage the condition. Many people suffering from chronic tinnitus regulate the ringing sound after some time, but one out of five patients will feel this condition debilitating and disturbing.
People may also experience insomnia, poor performance at school or work, difficulty in concentration, depression, anxiety, and irritability.In tinnitus, we hear a sound that has no external source but is consciously clear. This condition is not a disease but a symptom of an underlying disease or problem.
Usually, this noise is subjective, which means that only a person suffering from this condition can hear the sound. Usually, people experience a high-pitched or steady ringing in tinnitus. This sound is irritating and annoying.
Tinnitus can also be objective, but the chances are less than one percent.In this case, people suffering from tinnitus hear the noise along with others. The reason for objective tinnitus can be musculoskeletal or cardiovascular movement of the body. This condition is a medical emergency.
Tinnitus Symptoms: Causes of Tinnitus
Various health conditions can worsen or cause tinnitus. In most cases, the exact reason for tinnitus is unknown.
Nonetheless, it is likely due to damaged hair cells inside the inner ear. Tiny and delicate hairs present inside the inner ear move to the pressure of sound waves. This activates the cell to release electric signals through an auditory nerve (which is a nerve inside your ear) to your brain. The brain then interprets the signals as sound. The tinnitus sound that you hear is because the hairs malfunction and send random signals to your brain.
For many people, the below-mentioned conditions can lead to tinnitus:
1. Hearing Loss Due to Age
It’s common for people’s hearing to become worse as they age, often when they are at the age of 60. Tinnitus may be the reason for hearing loss. The medical term for this type of tinnitus is presbycusis.
2. Exposure to Loud Noise
Loud noises from firearms, chainsaws, heavy equipment, and other sources can lead to tinnitus. Portable electronic devices for music, such as iPods or MP3 players, can also cause tinnitus if you listen to music at a loud volume for prolonged periods. Tinnitus that occurs through short term exposure usually goes away.This includes noise while attending a concert with loud music. However, long and short exposure to loud noise and sound may lead to permanent damage.
3. Earwax Blockage
Earwax works asa protector for your ear canal as it traps the dirt from entering into your ear and growth of bacteria. When a lot of earwax fills the ear, it is unable to wash out. Naturally, this leads to irritation in the eardrum and, in the long term, hearing loss, which is a symptom of tinnitus.
4. Changes in Ear Bone
Otosclerosis is the stiffening of your middle ear’s bone, which affects hearing and leads to tinnitus. This condition runs in families and is a result of abnormal growth of the bone.
Other Common Causes of Tinnitus
Various other causes of tinnitus include chronic health conditions, ear problems, and injuries that affect the hearing center or ear nerves in the brain.
Before determining if you are experiencing tinnitus or not, you need to evaluate your symptoms. Start by asking yourself questions such as:
Do you hear the sound usually?
Is this sound coming from an internal or external source?
What is the intensity of the sound? Is it pulsating, intermittent, or steady?
What type of sound do you hear? For instance, is it humming, hissing, buzzing, whistling, rushing, chirping, clicking, roaring, or ringing?
Does it sound more like a heartbeat?
Can you locate the sound? Is it coming from a single ear or both, or is it coming from a distance, or from your head?
You can also learn various types of tinnitus sounds.You may notice these sounds with low background noise. For instance, when you are in your bed at night, and your environment is quiet, or if you are in a quiet room working, you may notice the sound. Additionally, there is information about tinnitus and its relation to hearing loss.
Tinnitus Symptoms: Conclusion
No matter if you are suffering from subjective or objective tinnitus, you need to consult a specialist as soon as possible. If you delay, the condition can get worse and painful.
For an appointment with a professional and experienced tinnitus specialist, call us at646-213-2321. For more information visit our main website.
How can you naturally reduce your tinnitus symptoms? Tinnitus, a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears, can be a frustrating and sometimes debilitating condition. It can disrupt sleep, concentration, and overall well-being. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, understanding the nature of tinnitus and exploring various management strategies can help improve your quality of life. This blog post will explore a few strategies to help you manage your tinnitus symptoms and regain a sense of peace and quiet.
Types of Tinnitus
Subjective Tinnitus: This is the most common type, experienced only by the individual.
Objective Tinnitus: A rarer form, audible to others, often caused by an underlying medical condition.
Common Symptoms of Tinnitus
Ringing, buzzing, hissing, or clicking sounds in the ears
Underlying medical conditions (e.g., high blood pressure, Meniere’s disease)
While the exact cause of tinnitus can be difficult to pinpoint, understanding potential triggers can help you manage your symptoms more effectively.
When to Seek Medical Advice
If you experience tinnitus, especially accompanied by:
Hearing loss
Dizziness
Ear pain
Sudden onset
Please consult a doctor immediately.
Natural Remedies: A Complementary Approach
Living with tinnitus can be a frustrating experience. While conventional medical treatments exist, many people seek natural remedies for relief. Following are some natural approaches that may help alleviate tinnitus symptoms and improve your overall quality of life:
If you’re struggling with tinnitus, Stephen Geller Katz LCSW is a world renowned specialist who can provide comprehensive evaluation and treatment for tinnitus and other sound disorders.
Contact Dr. Katz today for an expert consultation.
Have you been experiencing a nonstop sensation of ringing in the ears lately? The annoyance resulting from these sounds is not ordinary. It is so intense that it turns into a medical condition and needs immediate care. If you feel that way, you may be suffering from Tinnitus. Tinnitus is a disorder in which patients feel a continuous buzzing or ringing noise that makes them extremely annoyed.
Causes of Ringing In The Ears
The cause of this condition can be exposure to loud and long-term noise that damages the sensory hair cells present in the cochlea inside your ear.
Other causes of tinnitus include thick wax build-up inside your ear that does not let the hair cells function, head injury or taking aspirin frequently. Another cause may be the consumption of excessive caffeine. Tinnitus is a result of an underlying hearing loss problem.
High blood pressure also leads towards the development of Tinnitus. Stress, alcohol and caffeine all play their role in the hardening of the arteries that do not let the blood flow properly, resulting in increased blood pressure.
In most cases, individuals suffer from subjective tinnitus. In this type, only the sufferer can hear the noise. The triggering noise has no external source, so no one else can hear it. However, in severe cases, your specialist can also hear the noise. This is in the case of objective or Pulsatile tinnitus. Pulsatile tinnitus is an alarming condition in which you hear a noise with every heart-beat. This noise is dangerous because it can mean that your blood vessels have sustained damage or there is a tumor in your system.
Treating Tinnitus
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a common treatment to help treat Tinnitus. These therapy sessions help straighten out your thought patterns and make you re-think your reactions towards sounds that trigger your emotions. CBT is a tool that most specialists recommend because it helps patients handle stressful situations better.
Use hearing aids and auditory devices that produce white noise. This special white noise masks the triggering sounds and reduces the symptoms of tinnitus greatly. You can also sign up for a special therapy that is specific to Tinnitus treatment i.e. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.
These sessions aim to help sufferers manage their reactions. In addition to that, the sessions also include tinnitus-masking techniques. This special therapy attempts to change your perception towards the sounds. After completing your sessions, you will no longer feel irritation towards the triggering sounds. Instead, you will hear them as any other normal sound.
Moreover, you must avoid taking drugs that can enhance your tinnitus symptoms, especially the use of aspirin, anti-biotics and anti-depressants.
Bottom-Line
If you have noticed the buzzing, hissing and ringing symptom in your ears, it means that you have developed Tinnitus. You must consult a clinician or a specialist immediately because it is vital to evaluate and get to know about the underlying problems that may have led to tinnitus. After conducting tests and thoroughly examining your condition, your specialist will recommend you the most suitable treatment options.
Do not feel helpless, especially when professional help is very easily available. For the only mistake you do not want to make is waiting too long to take an action? Schedule your appointment with the best Tinnitus Specialist in NYC today and find out about your condition in detail.
Tinnitus is a disorder where you experience ringing in your head or ears while there is no external sound or noise present. You hear noises on either intermittent or continuous basis. The sound keeps on fluctuating in your eardrums. The types of sounds heard can vary significantly and the annoying noises can exacerbate the symptoms. You may hear sounds similar to hissing, static, roaring, buzzing, whistling and whooshing.
Tinnitus is split into categories according to the response of sensory organ;
Objective tinnitus
This is where the doctor will be able to listen to the sound in your ear during his diagnosis. Objective tinnitus isn’t that common and develops only when there is a complication with your blood vessels in the ear. Another symptom of this health complication is that you will the muscle contract in the middle of the ear.
Subjective tinnitus
This occurs due to prolonged exposure to sound. Subjective tinnitus is the most common type of tinnitus and leads to excruciating pain in the inner, middle and outer ear. The foremost cause of tinnitus is a damaged nerve in the ear.
Symptoms include:
Tinnitus symptoms may also develop due to the prior health issues such as heart problems, hypertension and Meniere’s disease. However, there are certain types of tinnitus in which you hear such noises.
Hyperacusis and its symptoms
If you have worked at a construction site, warehouse or a factory and were involved in using noisy, heavy machinery on a day to day basis, it is strongly recommended that you ask for a transfer or be sure to wear heavy, protective ear-gear. Why? Well, prolonged exposure of extremely loud noises can make people susceptible to tinnitus. The scientific term is referred to as “Hyperacusis” where you become highly sensitive to a certain sound frequency – and whenever you hear it, symptoms begin surface. This condition can worsen the physical complication and can lead to intolerable pain.
Pulsatile tinnitus and its symptoms
The rhythmical noise in eardrum indicates “pulsatile tinnitus”, which occurs simultaneously along your heart beat. The condition is very annoying and painful and the rhythm of the sounds and noise you experience changes when there is a shift in blood flow to your ear. This type of tinnitus is different from the objective tinnitus, and there is plaque formation in your eardrum.
Musical hallucinations and its symptoms
This is where you actually hallucinate sound, you feel as if there is music playing in the room or around you anywhere when there are no sounds at all. It mostly occurs in people with previous medical history of tinnitus and hearing disability. Musical hallucination can also strongly affect people who have normal hearing.
Low-frequency tinnitus
This type of tinnitus is quite puzzling. In low frequency tinnitus, the patient cannot recognize the source of the sound. However, the frequency of the sound is similar to that of a piano, and often the sound will often mimic rumbling, murmuring, humming and deep droning, which can adversely affect your cognitive function and concentration levels.
Bottom line
Unfortunately, there is still no cure for tinnitus yet. However, personal protective equipment such as ear muffs and ear plugs can mitigate the effect of tinnitus. Though the symptoms are too diverse, it’s difficult to identify the signs of tinnitus. Contact the best tinnitus treatment expert in NYC.
Call today for a free 15 min phone consultation 646-213-2321
Tinnitus Cognitive Center™
Stephen Geller Katz, LCSW-R 19 West 34th Street Penthouse Floor New York, NY 10001
