Tinnitus Treatment

Tinnitus is defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, 1969) as "The sensation of a sound without external stimulation." Tinnitus is divided into two major categories:

1. Objective Tinnitus: Objective tinnitus produced by paraudiotry structures, usually from vascular or myoclonic sources.

2. Subjective Tinnitus Subjective tinnitus is generated by the sensorineural auditory system. In general, tinnitus prevalence and severity increase with age, mostly affecting those in the 40–70 age group with an equal gender distribution.
In general, subjective or sensorineural auditory tinnitus is much more prevalent than objective tinnitus. Before treatment for tinnitus, the patient must undergo a medical and audiological evaluation.

COMMON CAUSES OF TINNITUS:

Age-related hearing loss: For many people, hearing worsens with age, usually starting around age 60. Hearing loss can cause tinnitus. The medical term for this type of hearing loss is presbycusis.
Exposure to loud noise.
Earwax blockage: Earwax protects your ear canal by trapping dirt and slowing the growth of bacteria. When too much earwax accumulates, it becomes too hard to wash away naturally, causing hearing loss or irritation of the eardrum, which can lead to tinnitus.
Ear bone changes: Stiffening of the bones in your middle ear (otosclerosis) may affect your hearing and cause tinnitus. This condition, caused by abnormal bone growth, tends to run in families.

OTHERS CAUSES OF TINNITUS:

Meniere's disease
Head injuries or neck injuries
Acoustic neuroma
Blood vessel disorders linked to tinnitus
Head and neck tumors
Atherosclerosis
High blood pressure and
Turbulent blood flow

EVALUATIONS OF TINNITUS:

First, a complete history should be obtained, where the patient describes his/her tinnitus in a case history.

APPLICATION OF DIAGNOSTIC TEST:

PTA
OAE (DPOAE ,SOAE )
IMPEDANCE AUDIOMETRY
BERA

MEASUREMENTS OF TINNITUS:

Many tinnitus measurement programs attempt to quantify four aspects of the tinnitus: pitch, loudness, minimum masking level, and residual inhibition or post-masking effects.

MANAGEMENTS:

Many tinnitus measurement programs attempts quantify four aspects of the tinnitus: Pitch, Loudness, Minimum Masking Level, and Residual Inhibitatio or Post – Masking Effects.

THERAPIES INVOLVE:

There are many therapies involved in Tinnious treatment. These are psychological or cognitive therapies (CBT), stress therapy, sound therapy (TRT), biofeedback, Alternative Therapy & Medications.

Tinnitus Retraining Therapy Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) is a programme of Tinnitus Rehabilitation that is based on the ‘Neurophysiological Model "of tinnitus. The TRT protocol was designed to facilitate long-term habituation to the conscious perception of the tinnitus signal through "sound therapy."
Tinnitus Masking Tinnitus Suppression by sound, called Tinnitus Masking (TM), in which external tone is applied to the ear. The Purpose of “tinnitus masking” is to make the tinnitus inaudible. The primary purpose of the sound presentation is to produce a sense of relief from the annoyance caused by the tinnitus sounds.
Tinnitus Masker This is an electronic hearing aid device that generates and emits broad-band or narrow-band noise at low levels, designed to mask the presence of tinnitus. Such masking noise is also referred to as white noise. For an individual suffering from both hearing loss and tinnitus, the masker and the hearing aid can operate together as one instrument.