In my previous post I discussed a bit about Tinnitus and how it is affecting my life. My form of Tinnitus causes the perception of multiple continuous 'Steady Tones' in both ears. I perceive 3 to 4 specific tones in my Left Ear and perceive 4 to 6 Tones in my Right Ear. Of course these are manifestations that I am perceiving as they do not actually exist outside my head (wow - that sounds pretty scary - almost something someone insane would state). Tinnitus is nothing more than falsely perceived sounds - there is no real sound waves carrying the sounds through the air, they are 'manifestations' of your mind either caused by inner-ear damage or other reasons. I am not saying a person suffering from Tinnitus is really not 'hearing' these manifestations - on the contrary they are and sometimes it is so 'deafening' as to cause problems understanding what other are saying, causing lack of sleep and causing stress and depression! All are detrimental to a person's health so Tinnitus can be a cause for all sorts of additional health problems.
I have been doing some research in an attempt to understand what Tinnitus is and what causes it in the hope of developing a method by which I can relieve my own Tinnitus infliction. A good part of my research has been in attempting to determine "what" causes Tinnitus. From my research I have found there are numerous causes and there can and usually is more than one direct cause for the affliction. Since there are more than one cause there are also multiple methods of remedy for the problem as well - each specific to the specific cause. This is the reason most people attempting to obtain relief from Tinnitus fail while using one method - it probably is not the right one and there may be, and usually is, more than one reason causing the Tinnitus in the first place. If you don't determine all the reasons you will not correct the problem causing the Tinnitus symptoms.
Understanding Tinnitus: Managing the Noises in Your Head
In my previous posting I mentioned some of the root causes that have been identified as causing Tinnitus symptoms (manifestations of sounds that are not really there). Some of the more common causes are listed here:
Extensive exposure to loud sounds - Loud music or machinery can be the cause for Tinnitus due to the damaging effects they can have on the inner-ear and nerves. This cause is the one most people associate with the reason for Tinnitus. Maybe it is but my understanding of the root causes for Tinnitus put this actually around the 40% mark as the root cause. Most people don't stay in areas where there is very loud noise for very long - or have some form of hearing protection to protect their hearing.
Ear Infections - Ear infections can cause permanent damage to the inner-ear and nerves so can be a cause for Tinnitus. I hope this is not the case for your Tinnitus as there really is not a method I know of to 'cure' permanent damage to nerves or structures within the inner-ear itself - the exception to this would be one of the three bones within the inner ear as there are methods today to replace these bones.
Certain drugs - Aspirin is one drug that has an affect on blood flow (thins the blood) and can be a cause for Tinnitus. Asprin has been linked to causing Tinnitus but the benefits of taking Asprin verses the risks the Asprin may be suppressing have to be weighed. Other types of drugs, such as blood pressure medications, can be the root cause of Tinnitus because of the changes in blood flow in the ear region. This is not to say stop taking blood pressure medications as this could lead to other, much more serious issues! Talk with your physician to determine if there is a different blood pressure medication you can try to see if it has any affect on your Tinnitus. Remember - it will take 3 - 5 weeks for a change in medications to fully take effect so you need to give it some time to see if the Tinnitus is affected. One or two weeks probably will not yield any difference if the Tinnitus is being caused by your medication. Caffine is another drug that can have a very strong affect on Tinnitus. Coffee, especially strong brews, can have a strong effect on Tinnitus. You may want to avoid strong coffees to see if it has any affect on Tinnitus.
Diseases such as Hypertension, Diabetes, Meniere's Syndrome, Atherosclerosis, Thyroid disorders, etc. Hypertension is a chronic medical condition in which the blood pressure is elevated. Diabetes is a condition in which a person has high Blood Sugar (glucose) level as a result of the body not producing enough insulin, or because the body cells do not properly resoind to the insulin that is produced. Both Hypertension and Diabetes are common in the United States because of poor eating habits (fast food being one) and constant stress from work or other stressors. Meniere's Syndrome is a disorder of the inner ear that can affect hearing and balance to a varying degree. It is characterized by episodes of dizziness an dTinnitus and progressive hearing loss, usually in one ear. This disorder is a physical inner ear issue that should be taken care of as soon as possible to aleviate any further inner ear damage. Atherosclerosis is the condition in which an artiery wall thickens as the result of a build-up of fatty materials such as cholesterel. Another common name for this disease is "hardening of the arteries"! This condition restricts blood flow to the area supplied by the artery which reduces the amount of nutrients and oxygen that reaches the affected area. This reduction can lead to nerve damage which can trigger Tinnitus if the area affected is around the ears or brain centers responsible for hearing. Just from this brief description of some of the diseases which affect hearing and can cause Tinnitus I found most anything that affect blood flow has an affect on Tinnitus syptoms.
Normal aging process - as you get older you can develop issues with blood flow, this in turn can translate into Tinnitus. The reason for this effect has to do with the effect of lower blood flow to nerves. Some Tinnitus issue have been directly traced to blood flow.
Stress and Depression - The quiet Killers (in more ways than one) Stress and/or Depression can (and do) cause all sorts of health issues, one of which manifests itself as some form of Tinnitus. Stress, over time and not treated, will cause Hypertension issues. This in turn will lead to Tinnitus. Depression has the same affect overall.
Allergies - Some allergies such as food allergies can be the root cause of Tinnitus. This was the real interesting item for me when I researched Tinnitus. I would not have thought food allergies to be a cause but after researching it I can see where this can be the case!
Tinnitus: Theory and Management
