Causes of Tinnitus
Tinnitus is the sensation of hearing sound that is inaudible to others. Tinnitus often accompanies hearing impairment.
There are many theories about the causes of tinnitus. Some maintain that the origin is somewhere within the auditory nerve, while other theories assume that Tinnitus can arise from damage anywhere in the auditory system.
Tinnitus can be perceived as all kinds of sounds and may very in intensity, be constant, or periodic.
Typical causes of Tinnitus
- Induced by noise
- Diseases of the ear (e.g. Meniere’s Disease)
- Excessive use of certain drugs
- Natural ageing process
- Unknown aetiology
Tinnitus effects
Chronic Tinnitus is experienced by 10% – 15% of adults. It can often be accompanied by a series of common difficulties such as:
- Speech understanding
- Lack of sleep
- Emotional problems such as despair, frustration, depression, annoyance, irritation, inability to relax, stress and concentration
Tinnitus management
Tinnitus management combines counselling with sound stimulation.
Through counselling, we help you to accept and gain control over your Tinnitus. Through sound therapy, we use stimuli to mask your Tinnitus and reduce stress.
Sound Stimulation can be in the form of environmental sounds, speech sounds, music or noise. We can achieve this by using natural environmental sounds, amplification through hearing devices and devices which have the facility to mask Tinnitus.