5 Reasons Why Living with Tinnitus Can Be Challenging

You hear a lot of talk nowadays about the challenge of living with chronic ailments like diabetes or high blood pressure, but what about tinnitus? It is a chronic illness which has a strong emotional component because it affects so many aspects of someone’s life. Tinnitus presents as phantom sounds in both ears. Most folks describe the sound as clicking, buzzing, hissing, or ringing that no one else can hear.

Tinnitus technically isn’t an illness but a symptom of an another medical issue like hearing loss and something that over 50 million people in the U.S. deal with on daily basis. The phantom sound will begin at the most inconvenient times, too, like when you are watching a favorite TV series, attempting to read a book or listening to a friend tell a great tale. Tinnitus can flare up even once you attempt to go to bed.

Medical science has not quite pinpointed the reason so many folks suffer with tinnitus or how it occurs. The accepted theory is that the mind creates this sound to balance the silence that comes with hearing loss. Regardless of the cause, tinnitus is a life-altering condition. Consider five ways that tinnitus is such a challenge.

1. Tinnitus Impacts Emotional Processing

Recent information indicates that people who experience tinnitus have increased activity in their limbic system of the brain. The limbic system is the part of the brain responsible for emotions. Until this discovery, most specialists believed that people with tinnitus were stressed and that is why they were always so sensitive. This new study indicates there is much more to it than simple stress. There is an organic component that makes those with tinnitus touchy and emotionally frail.

2. Tinnitus is Hard to Explain

How do you explain to someone else that you hear weird noises coming from inside your head and not feel crazy once you say it. The inability to tell others about tinnitus causes a divide. Even if you can tell someone else, it is not something that they truly can relate to unless they experience it for themselves. Even then, they may not have exactly the very same symptoms of tinnitus as you. Support groups are usually available, but it means talking to a lot of people that you aren’t comfortable with about something very personal, so it is not an attractive choice to most.

3. Tinnitus is Annoying

Imagine trying to write a paper or study with noise in the background that you can’t turn down or turn off. It’s a distraction that many find disabling if they’re at the office or just doing things around the home. The ringing shifts your focus making it tough to remain on track. The inability to concentrate that comes with tinnitus is a true motivation killer, too, making you feel lethargic and worthless.

4. Tinnitus Inhibits Rest

This is one of the most crucial side effects of tinnitus. The ringing tends to get worse when a sufferer is attempting to fall asleep. It’s not certain why it increases at night, but the most plausible explanation is that the silence around you makes it more noticeable. During the day, other sounds ease the sound of tinnitus like the TV, but you turn off everything when it is time to sleep.

A lot of men and women use a sound machine or a fan at night to help alleviate their tinnitus. Just that little bit of background noise is enough to get your brain to reduce the volume on your tinnitus and permit you to fall asleep.

5. There’s No Quick Fix For Tinnitus

Just the idea that tinnitus is something that you must live with is hard to accept. Although no cure will shut off that noise permanently, a few things can be done to help you find relief. It starts at the doctor’s office. Tinnitus is a symptom, and it’s critical to get a proper diagnosis. For example, if you hear clicking, maybe the sound is not tinnitus but a sound associated with a jaw problem such as TMJ. For many, the cause is a chronic illness the requires treatment like hypertension.

Lots of people will discover their tinnitus is the result of hearing loss and dealing with that health problem relieves the noise they hear. Getting a hearing aid means an increase in the level of noise, so the brain can stop trying to make some sound to fill in the empty spaces. Hearing loss can also be temporary, such as earwax build up. When the physician treats the underlying issue, the tinnitus dulls.

In extreme cases, your physician may attempt to treat the tinnitus medically. Antidepressants may help lower the ringing you hear, as an example. The doctor can provide you with lifestyle changes that should alleviate the symptoms and make living with tinnitus easier, such as using a noise machine and finding ways to manage stress.

Tinnitus presents many challenges, but there’s hope. Medical science is learning more every year about how the brain functions and strategies to improve life for those struggling with tinnitus.