Tinnitus Treatment

Addressing Underlying Causes and Impact

Tailored Treatments for Tinnitus

Tinnitus is the term used to describe the condition of having ringing, buzzing, or noise in the ear or originating from the head. The word tinnitus is Latin and literally means ringing.

Tinnitus can be caused by many things, and is usually a symptom of an underlying condition. The treatment for your particular tinnitus will depend on the condition that is causing it, the severity, any accompanying issues such as hearing loss, and the impact the tinnitus has on daily activities.

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Hearing Evaluations

Common causes of tinnitus include:

Stress
Hearing loss
Exposure to loud noises
Earwax buildup or blockages
Abnormal bone growth in the ear
Meniere's disease
Head or neck injuries
Benign tumor of the cranial nerve

What Treatments are Available?

Depending on the cause of your tinnitus and other factors, several treatments are available, including medical options as well as alternative therapies.

In order to find out the root cause of your tinnitus, your physician or audiologist will conduct a complete medical history, as well as a complete examination.

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Other

Tinnitus Treatments

Minerals such as magnesium or zinc, herbal preparations such as Ginkgo biloba, homeopathic remedies, or B vitamins are sometimes prescribed for relieving tinnitus. Procedures such as acupuncture, cranio-sacral therapy, magnets, hyperbaric oxygen, or hypnosis are also occasionally tried.

Various treatment strategies utilize sound to decrease the loudness or prominence of tinnitus. Sound therapies can include both wearable (hearing aid-like devices) and non-wearable devices (such as table-top sound machines or even a whirring fan). Often, sound, like white noise, is used to completely or partially cover the tinnitus. Some people refer to this covering of sound as masking. Sound therapies, in general, are most effective when combined with a form of counseling.

One treatment that incorporates sound therapy is called Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), also known as habituation therapy. This therapy attempts to retrain your brain into perceiving the tinnitus in a different way.

About 75% of people with tinnitus are not bothered by it because their brains process it and file it as another everyday noise. TRT tries to teach your brain how to process the noise so that it doesn't bother you anymore (or not as much).

Medications may be an option, especially if they are to treat an underlying condition and relieve its symptoms. However, no medications have been approved specifically for the treatment of tinnitus.

Your physician or audiologist will also be able to refer you to psychological treatment or support, as tinnitus can be life-changing and hard to deal with, especially when it is a chronic problem. A tinnitus support group may also be of help.

After treatment has taken place, further maintenance is important. This may include management of associated health problems or ongoing therapies to support health and manage tinnitus.