Tinnitus
What is it and what can I do about it?
My Ears are ringing! What is it? Can you make it go away?
Tinnitus, often described as a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear, is a symptom that can be related to almost every known hearing problem. Tinnitus is not a disease, but it can be caused by exposure to loud sounds, middle or inner ear infections, tumors on the hearing nerve, and even wax on the eardrum.
Sometimes tinnitus can be medically or surgically treated. Your appointment with a physician at CEI is your opportunity to find out about treatment options for you. It is not always possible for your physician to determine the cause of your tinnitus; each case is different. The same cause will not necessarily produce the same set of symptoms in each patient.
Tinnitus is a common problem, affecting about 17% of the general population and causing significant suffering in many cases. Many patients have learned to live with this problem but for some, living with it is very problematic. For those patients CEI Hearing Device Center offers some help.
With Hearing Devices… We know that if a person has tinnitus and also has a hearing loss, they may derive considerable relief from the tinnitus when they are using their hearing device. In many cases the relief is dramatic and complete. For some the relief may be a reduced perception of the ringing.
Tinnitus Maskers
Masking devices resemble hearing devices and are designed to produce low-level sound that can reduce and in some cases eliminate the perception of tinnitus. Masking can also produce the phenomenon of residual inhibition, where the reduction or elimination of tinnitus perception continues for a short time after the masker is removed.
Tinnitus Retraining Therapy
The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment is a non-invasive approach that has been cleared by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) for commercial distribution. The treatment is an acoustic-based treatment complemented by assessment, monitoring, support and education from a clinician over a six-month period. The Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment is comprehensive, non-invasive and effective-offering proven and significant long-term reduction of tinnitus disturbance. Please contact the California Ear Institute's Hearing Device Center closest to you to schedule an assessment with one of our Neuromonics trained audiologists.
Treatment Options
Tinnitus Evaluation & Treatment
Tinnitus is a noise heard in the ear not coming from the environment outside the patient. An extremely common disorder (affecting 1 in 7 Americans), the range of impact may be anywhere from awareness of the noise in quiet to a life impacting severe sound which is constantly present. Evaluation by CEI Physicians and Audiologists is necessary to define the source of the tinnitus. Several sophisticated tests and procedures frequently become necessary to elucidate the source of the problem. Unwanted noise may arise in the inner ear, the hearing nerve pathway and surrounding structures, or the brain itself.
Treatment of tinnitus is possible but can be frustrating due to low to moderate success rates with almost all treatments. In up to half of cases, CEI professionals may improve or alleviate the tinnitus with one or a combination of several therapies.
Click here to learn more about Tinnitus and Tinnitus Treatment
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