Are you suffering from tinnitus? Tinnitus is a condition that causes you to hear some kind of sound that isn’t there. The sound in question could be anything from a whistling noise to a whirring or humming. It could even be a piece of music that seems to play on repeat. If you are noticing an issue like this, it’s perhaps best to go speak to an audiologist. Particularly, if the noise is still there more than a week later. If you don’t do this, then you may find the issue does start to disrupt your persona and professional life.

One of the main questions people often have when they see an audiologist is whether or not this type of condition can be cured. When reading online, you will probably find that the answer is no, but there are are a few more details that you should be aware of.

What type of tinnitus do you have?

Only an audiologist will be able to answer this question, and it is important to consider. You see while one type is curable, the other typically won’t be. Subjective tinnitus is the most common and will typically be caused by exposing your ears repeatedly to noises over 80 decibels. This could occur in your personal or professional life.

Objective tinnitus is quite different and instead is triggered by a blockage impacting the ear. This can be a growth or a buildup of earwax. It can differ from individual to individual but is usually completely curable. Your ears will either by cleaned out or you might need to have surgery, depending on the severity of the issue. Objective tinnitus is often loud enough for other people to hear, if they have a listening device.

Treatment options?

If you have the most typical form of tinnitus, there are a few treatment possibilities. First, if you have only just notice an issue with tinnitus, there’s a good chance that the damage can be reversed. This will be the case if the noise is not constant. All you need to do is protect your ears from anymore loud noises, and an audiologist can explain the right way to do this.

Alternatively, you can get therapy treatment for tinnitus. Therapy involves seeing the noise as something that you don’t need to pay attention to like the ticking of a clock so that you barely hear it at all.

Or, you can think about hearing aids. It’s worth being aware that tinnitus is often paired with hearing loss and for this reason, hearing aids can be beneficial. You will need a hearing test to determine whether you are suffering from some level of hearing loss. If you are, hearing aids will be a typically recommended solution. If you are having issues with tinnitus then you may also find hearing aids can help mask the noise. This works by blocking the sound on the same level of frequency which means that you shouldn’t hear it at all. Sound machines can be used for the same effect. Instead, you’ll hear white noise which is often far easier to ignore completely.