Tinnitus today and the way I see it.
Tinnitus has been around for centuries and goes back to the Egyptians, when the first written account and medical treatment for it was recorded. Some say not much progress has been made in the medical field for treating it and I disagree. With such a close mind it’s not surprising they have difficulty accepting medications, therapies, white noise generators and hearing aids have been effective in helping people to have a better quality of life.
I believe we have come a long way since the Egyptians applied infused oil, frankincense and tree sap to the external part of the ear using a reed stalk. The Mesopotamians found benefit chanting a mantra or meditated to help ease the whispering in the ears as it was called. Physicians believed in those remedies and therefore, who are we to say they didn’t make life more tolerable for some people?
A cure hasn’t been found for tinnitus but many live in hope. I once read a newspaper article that mentioned: nineteen out of twenty medical conditions cannot be cured although many can be treated. I will assume those affected by tinnitus throughout the centuries weren’t too dissimilar from the people of today. How did they manage or more importantly how did they learn to accept it since there was no cure? It is probably fair to say we might never know, unless someone has a DeLorean to go back and find out. Seriously though, how did they cope considering modern day medicine was not available then? Has the world become a much noisier place and made it more difficult to accept tinnitus and habituate to it? I don’t think this is the case.
I believe the wearing of headphones and the advancement in technology where most people have a mobile phone on their person enabling earbuds, to be attached so they can listen to music, has contributed to the increase in noise-induced tinnitus particularly amongst the young. Not to mention nightclubs and concerts where high sound levels are easily reached and hearing damage becomes all too real. Exposure to loud noise is the most common cause of tinnitus and often hyperacusis accompanies it, which can make a bad situation worse.
Other conditions not associated with loud noise also cause tinnitus. Otoscelerosis is the abnormal bone growth in the ear that affects the stapes making it fuse together with surrounding bone and eventually becomes fixed so it’s unable to move. It is a progressive condition that results in hearing loss and tinnitus. Rarely does it cause total deafness so hearing aids can be helpful. Surgery is also an option to improve hearing known as stapedectomy.
Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes tinnitus and hearing loss. Dizziness, sickness and fullness in the ears are usually experienced with it. An attack can last minutes or hours, typically though two or three hours duration is likely and can be quite unpleasant for the individual. Fortunately hearing aids and white noise generators have proven to be helpful for the tinnitus and hearing. Medications can help relieve nausea, vomiting and vertigo.
TMJ is pain in the jaw. It comprises of muscles that are attached to the joint that connects the lower jaw to the skull. A disorder known as TMD Temporomandibular disorder can affect it causing pain in the face and jaw. Headaches can follow along with ear pain and tinnitus. People affected by it often get relief under the care of a dentist or orthodontist. Special mouth splints can prevent clenching of the jaw and helps relieve tension on the muscles. Sometimes steroid drugs are injected into the temporomandibular joint to reduce inflamation. Braces and oral surgery are known to be helpful.
I have touched on a few of the common conditions that can cause tinnitus and there are others. It may not always require treatment as many people naturally habituate in time. There is no doubt that when tinnitus is severe it can be very debilitating and a person may need the help of a Hearing Therapist or Audiologist trained in tinnitus management. Ultimately, I think each person will have to decide what he or she wants and hopes to achieve living with it because many have coped over the centuries with tinnitus.
We have the advantage over those before us afflicted with this condition, as they didn’t have the treatments that are available now. I think it’s something we should embrace and be thankful for. Not only that but consider, the wealth of information online and the support one can get at a tinnitus forum, which wasn’t around thirty years ago. Science still isn’t sure how the Egyptians built the great pyramids. I wonder sometimes what they and the Mesopotamians would think of our modern tinnitus treatments compared to their own.
Michael
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hearing aids and tinnitus nhs support.
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