Conditions that affect our senses can be debilitating in the most unpredictable ways. When something affects your ability to perceive the world, it feels like it affects you more acutely than other conditions. Hearing is one such sense that we often take for granted until it’s too late.
Disturbances with hearing are often experienced through conditions like tinnitus. In America, over 25 million people are known to suffer from this condition.
In this article, we will explore what you can do if you have been diagnosed with tinnitus. As tinnitus currently has no cure, knowing how to cope and move forward with life will be important.
Avoid Making Your Tinnitus Worse
If you are lucky enough to have a mild case of tinnitus, coping with it becomes much easier. However, please remember that tinnitus can worsen over time, especially if certain factors or behaviors are not managed.
Tinnitus can increase from repeated exposure to loud noises or stressors. Similarly, caffeine and nicotine are also known to worsen tinnitus.
You will also want to become extra cautious about the medication you take. MayoClinic also highlights that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, and drugs that treat cancer can all potentially worsen tinnitus.
Medicines like Tepezza have recently come under scrutiny due to their ability to cause tinnitus as a side effect. This has even led to a number of people filing Tepezza lawsuit cases against its manufacturer.
TruLaw notes that Horizon Therapeutics, (the manufacturer) failed to disclose the risk of hearing loss on the medicine’s warning label. Thus, be careful about what medication you are taking.
Learn Coping Strategies
Because no proven cure exists at the moment, tinnitus management primarily involves learning how to cope with it. Coping strategies can be highly effective if your tinnitus is not too severe. Let’s explore some of the common ones below.
Sound Masking
Masking the ringing sound you hear is a commonly used strategy for managing tinnitus. The goal of masking is to play an external sound that is just slightly louder than your tinnitus. This external sound can be in the form of white noise, nature sounds, gentle music, or other calming sounds.
This strategy is particularly popular because of how easy it is to implement. You aren’t limited to dedicated sound machines. Instead, you can use fans, air conditioners, running water, or even apps on your smartphone and a pair of headphones. With this method, many people forget they have tinnitus until they are in a quiet environment.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT aims to identify and modify negative thought patterns and beliefs associated with tinnitus. People with tinnitus tend to experience distressing thoughts. These can include catastrophizing (believing the worst will happen), rumination (constantly thinking about tinnitus), and even self-criticism.
CBT provides tools and techniques to manage these emotions and thoughts. It is typically conducted by a trained therapist who specializes in tinnitus management or audiology. You will need to trust the process and your therapist though. CBT tends to be more effective if you are an active participant in the process.
Live a Healthier Life
Though a more indirect approach, leading a healthier life can help reduce the impact of the condition on daily life. Try to focus on good sleep as much as possible. Poor sleep quality and sleep patterns lead to increased stress and anxiety.
This can, in turn, make tinnitus more distressing. When you are sleep-deprived, you can become hypersensitive to tinnitus. As a result, the ringing can seem louder or more bothersome than it actually is.
Some Interesting New Developments to Keep Track Of
While we aren’t sure when a cure may be found, it’s worth keeping an eye on the news. Researchers have been investigating medications that target the neural pathways involved in tinnitus perception. Some studies have explored drugs that may modulate neurotransmitter activity or reduce inflammation in the auditory system.
Techniques involving neuromodulation, such as Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) have also shown promise in reducing tinnitus perception.
These approaches involve non-invasive brain stimulation to modulate neural activity and can help reset abnormal patterns of neural firing. Research also continues on sound-based therapies, such as Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and customized sound therapies.
These aim to habituate people to the ringing noise and reduce its intrusiveness. Many people lose hope when they realize they have tinnitus. They turn to the internet for solutions and don’t bother to seek medical help.
This may not be the wisest idea. In many cases, tinnitus is caused by underlying factors. If these are resolved, it can reduce or even remove the condition. Earwax blockage, ear infections, otosclerosis, vascular issues, head and neck injuries, and tumors are all conditions that may trigger tinnitus.
Thus, don’t hesitate to get yourself checked if you start to experience the symptoms of tinnitus.
Conclusion
A tinnitus diagnosis can be frightening, but it isn’t the end of the world. Remember, you are not alone in this fight. Millions of people across the world experience the symptoms of tinnitus. It can be helpful to join online or real-world communities and learn how others cope with the condition.
Surprisingly, many people learn to adapt to the ringing. Some even say that they wouldn’t be able to go back to hearing complete silence. With the right mindset, it is possible to accept the symptoms with grace and move on with life.
