What is Tinnitus ?
Tinnitus is very common. About one in ten adults experience tinnitus. It is not a disease or illness. It is a symptom generated by the hearing system in your brain.
Tinnitus is the term for the sensation of hearing a sound in the absence of any external sound. Symptoms of tinnitus are you may hear different types of sound, for example, ringing, whooshing or humming or buzzing in the ear. These can be continuous or they can come and go. The tinnitus might seem like it’s in one ear or both, in the middle of the head or even be difficult to pinpoint. Some people may think the noise is coming from outside and hunt for it until they discover it’s actually inside them!
Occasionally people have tinnitus that has a musical quality and can seem like a familiar tune or song. This generally occurs in older people who have a hearing loss and a strong musical interest. This type of tinnitus is known as musical tinnitus or musical hallucination.
Occasionally people have tinnitus that has a musical quality and can seem like a familiar tune or song. This generally occurs in older people who have a hearing loss and a strong musical interest. This type of tinnitus is known as musical tinnitus or musical hallucination.
What Causes Tinnitus?
The causes of tinnitus are still not fully known. Here we list some issues that we do know that it can be linked with.
When we hear, sound travels into the ear and then the hearing nerves take the signals to the brain. The brain is then responsible for putting it all together and making sense of the sound. Because the ears don’t know what’s important and what’s not, they send a lot of information to the brain. This is too much information for us to process, so the brain filters out a lot of unnecessary ‘activity’ and background sound, such as clocks ticking or traffic noise.
If there is a change in the system, for example, a hearing loss or ear infection, the amount of information being sent to the brain changes. The brain then responds to this change in levels by trying to get more information from the ear, and the extra information you may get is the sound we call tinnitus. The tinnitus is therefore actually brain activity and not the ear itself! It is generally accepted that it isn’t only a change in the ear that can result in tinnitus, but it could be due to a change in our stress levels, for example, with tinnitus being noticed after periods of significant stress, a change in life circumstances or general wellbeing.
Fortunately, tinnitus is rarely an indication of a serious disorder and a doctor will be able to check this for you.
When we hear, sound travels into the ear and then the hearing nerves take the signals to the brain. The brain is then responsible for putting it all together and making sense of the sound. Because the ears don’t know what’s important and what’s not, they send a lot of information to the brain. This is too much information for us to process, so the brain filters out a lot of unnecessary ‘activity’ and background sound, such as clocks ticking or traffic noise.
If there is a change in the system, for example, a hearing loss or ear infection, the amount of information being sent to the brain changes. The brain then responds to this change in levels by trying to get more information from the ear, and the extra information you may get is the sound we call tinnitus. The tinnitus is therefore actually brain activity and not the ear itself! It is generally accepted that it isn’t only a change in the ear that can result in tinnitus, but it could be due to a change in our stress levels, for example, with tinnitus being noticed after periods of significant stress, a change in life circumstances or general wellbeing.
Fortunately, tinnitus is rarely an indication of a serious disorder and a doctor will be able to check this for you.
Solutions that Makes Life Better
While there can be various reasons for a decrease in hearing ability including age, genetic build, injury or certain health conditions, there are ample solutions available today that you can avail of.
The following funding options can be availed at our clinics:
- Hearing Services Program
- NSW Workers Compensation
- NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme)
- Tailored Interest-Free Payment Plans
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Manning Audiology Tuncurry
Address: 3/11 Manning St, Tuncurry NSW 2428, Australia
Phone: +61 2 6555 2442
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Address: Clarence Centre, 3/46A Wynter Street, Taree NSW 2430, Australia
Phone: +61 2 5532 6900
Manning Audiology Harrington
Address: Shop 8 Harrington waters shopping village, Harrington NSW 2427, Australia
Phone:+61 2 5532 6901
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Address: Shop 45, Bay Street & Cnr Park Settlement City Shopping Centre, Port Macquarie NSW 2444, Australia
Phone: +61 2 5532 6902
