How is Tinnitus Treated?

While tinnitus isn’t usually a sign of a serious health problem, the symptoms of hearing a ring, buzz or whistle-like sound can be immensely frustrating. Getting the problem treated by an audiologist is the only solution, but what exactly can they do to rid you of this annoyance?

Despite not being an actual condition in itself, there are several ways to reduce the symptoms and learn to cope with tinnitus. Here are just five of the most common solutions that the audiologist might suggest.

Wax removal

Tinnitus symptoms can be caused by many sources. Sometimes, though, it’s simply due to earwax blocking the canal. If this is the case, the audiologist can safely remove that excess wax to hopefully restore your hearing and remove the ticking and whistling sounds from your life. Similarly, infections may be the reason for your problems. By treating those, it may be possible to overcome the tinnitus too. At the very least, it should stop the situation from worsening.

Hearing aids

Tinnitus can be linked to hearing loss, especially age-related hearing loss, which is why hearing aids will often help. By finally restoring the volume and clarity of external sounds, the internal ones will suddenly seem less noticeable. Several modern models can play soothing sounds and melodies. Hearing aids that are actively placed in the ear canal also offer plug-like properties to further boost your hopes of stopping those symptoms from controlling your life.

Sound therapy

Hearing aids will provide some relief but sound therapy is often needed too. The aforementioned hearing aids that play soothing sounds can be used to achieve great results, especially when the audiologist is able to quantify your symptoms. Counseling is another hugely positive step in this sense. Aside from fading the impact that tinnitus symptoms have on your life, it teaches you to cope by mentally blocking out the buzzes and whistling.

Therapy

Other forms of therapy can be used to treat tinnitus. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) won’t impact the symptoms directly, but it allows you to stop them from causing negative impacts on your life, especially if you’ve suffered anxiety as a result of the problem. Tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) builds upon counseling to help you ignore the tinnitus symptoms so that they become a background issue rather than something that sits at the forefront.

Medication

Depending on the diagnosis, you may find that there are various medications that can be prescribed. Aside from the medicines needed to cure infections, antidepressants may be used for those with the previously mentioned anxiety. Aside from medication, you may be advised to try yoga and other calming exercises. Meanwhile, if your symptoms have surfaced due to side effects of other medication, it may be suggested that you switch to an alternative solution.

Regardless of why tinnitus symptoms have surfaced, the audiologist is always the best person to help you overcome those problems. With so many possible treatments out there, suffering in silence no longer needs to be an option.