How to Handle Tinnitus, the Ringing in Your Ears

Urgent Care Blog

Do you have an ongoing ringing sound in your ears when no external noise is present? Then you’ve experienced tinnitus. It’s a surprisingly common condition suffered by 45 million people in the United States, and is typically more widespread for people aged 60 and over. Tinnitus is merely irritating for most of its sufferers, but can be incredibly troublesome for those with severe ringing in ears. People often visit MD Now Urgent Care complaining of the condition and looking for tinnitus relief. If you’re looking for tinnitus relief, try the following helpful hints and visit your nearest MD Now location for more information on how to stop ringing in ears. 

An Earful About Tinnitus

Tinnitus is the medical term for the sensation of hearing some sort of ringing in ears or hissing or buzzing sound in either one or both ears when no actual sound is present. These sounds can have a range of volumes and pitches. They tend to be worse when there is little background noise, which makes them more evident and bothersome at night as you’re trying to get to sleep.

Tinnitus is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, rather than an actual disease. The way to uncover the specific tinnitus cause is by visiting either an audiologist or an otolaryngologist, which is a specialist in ear, nose, and throat conditions. Some of the most common tinnitus causes include:

  • Noise-induced or age-related hearing loss.
  • Middle-ear obstructions, which typically result from excessive wax in the ear canal.
  • Side effects of certain medications, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, antibiotics, some blood pressure diuretics and drugs, and cancer medications.
  • Many health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid problems, vascular disease, allergies, ear or sinus infections, TMJ, Lyme disease, Ménière’s disease, otosclerosis, fibromyalgia, a tumor, traumatic brain injury, depression, an injury to the head or neck, and severe stress.

Listen to Your Tinnitus Treatment Options

At this time, there is no tinnitus cure, but there are some tinnitus treatment options depending on the cause. These include:

Remove any built-up wax in your ears if you believe it’s responsible for your tinnitus.

  • Treat any medical conditions that may be causing your case.
  • Switch medications or lower the dosage if you think they’re contributing to your problem.
  • Try sound therapies like a white-noise machine or modified-sound system, which can help mask the ringing sound or train your brain to ignore the noise.
  • Get a hearing aid to improve your ability to hear and to augment the perception of external noise to help mask tinnitus sounds.
  • Take a medication that can relieve the annoying symptoms, such as antidepressants or an anti-anxiety drug.
  • Consider behavioral therapies like support groups and counseling to help you cope with the symptoms of tinnitus.
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