Tinnitus, or ‘ringing in the ears,’ is the phenomenon of hearing phantom noises in your ears that are not from an external source. It has a wide range of presentations, from a sound like buzzing to whooshing, wave-like effects to something like radio static in the ears. It can pulse like the sound of a heartbeat in the head, be a low hiss like an overheated radiator, or high and shrill as a dog whistle. It can come and go, be in one ear or both, change on the hour or with location or be a constant din.
The condition is most often treated as something of a non-life-threatening annoyance. A quick search online, however, reveals thousands of sufferers describing their harrowing ordeals with the condition that has robbed them of peace of mind and altered their lives.
Data reveal that tinnitus affects people’s job performance and concentration, and it can lead to anxiety, depression and impaired sleep. It frequently precedes hearing loss. Those who have it are also more likely to develop Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Soldiers are a group especially at risk.
The obvious common denominator among military vets with tinnitus is a history of exposure to the noise of explosions, which also can cause hearing loss. Loud noises can bend or break the tiny, delicate hair cells that line the spiral cavity of the inner ear (cochlea)—so tiny that 1,800 could fit on the head of the pin. Sound waves move these hairs, and the movement triggers electrical signals along the nerve from your ear to your brain, which interprets the electrical signals as sound.
The risk of chronic tinnitus was three times higher in people with consistent exposure to loud noises at work and twice as high in those with ‘recreational’ exposures.
Young people who listen to loud music with earbuds or headphones or through mobile phones are a high-risk population for ear damage
Any new occurrence of tinnitus should be investigated as very rarely, tinnitus is a sign of an underlying nasopharyngeal cancer, and it’s important to have this ruled out. Occasionally “pulsatile” tinnitus—the kind that makes a heartbeat or rhythmic thumping noise—is a signal of heart disease, hypertension or some other restriction of blood supply.
A sinus or ear infection or nasal congestion from a bad cold or flu can result in fluid building up and creating pressure in the middle ear, which can lead to hearing loss or tinnitus.
Although tinnitus may begin as an injury to ear cells, it’s accepted science now that the condition has implications beyond the ears to the brain. Parts of the brain in chronic tinnitus are working more often, not relaxing and disengaging from surrounding stimuli, creating mental fatigue.
More recently there have been reports of increased cases of tinnitus post covid infection (14.8%) and post vaccination for covid.
What can you do about it?
Sometimes just having the ear gently suctioned to remove impacted wax can help restore muffled hearing or tinnitus buzzing but do not try to remove wax yourself with cotton buds (Q-tips) as they can do damage and compact any wax, so be careful cleaning ears.
At Walnut Grove, Andrew Bird hearing comes to the clinic 2 days a week to use micro-suction for wax removal and they also do hearing tests and fit hearing aids when required.
A few drops of olive oil in the ear may be enough to soften wax. Warm it slightly first, apply it into the ear, then put a cotton swab over the ear or an old towel on your pillowcase to prevent it from leaking out. We always ask people to do this for 7 days before coming for wax removal.
Other things that might help are:
- Antioxidants – Vit B12, CoQ10, Coffee, Alpha-lipoic acid.
- Ginkgo Biloba
- Zinc
- Magnesium
- Reddit cure – look it up, the videos are amazing!!
- Trigger point release
- Acupuncture
- Bimodal neuromodulation – zapping the tongue with electric current, another one to look up!!
There is no one simple answer – that is why there are so many things that some studies have shown have some effect.
Research is moving forward all the time and if you have tinnitus, I wish you well on your journey to a quieter world.
