Tinnitus has a high incidence in the population, and according to conservative estimates, there are at least 120-130 million tinnitus patients in China. These patients not only suffer from mental pain, but also their normal life and work are affected. Patients who are affected by tinnitus and are irritable and helpless are eager to know how to diagnose and treat tinnitus after its symptoms appear.
1.What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a sound sensation in patients without external stimulation, and its performance varies greatly among individuals. Tinnitus may be low-pitched, such as the roar of wind, train or machine operation, or high-pitched, such as the sound of cicadas, whistles or sirens.
2. Will tinnitus be caused in the future by patients who have had otitis media with an inner eardrum? If so, what should be done to prevent and treat it?
(1) Avoid water in the ear and noise.
(2) Clean the ear wax regularly to avoid infection.
(3) Pay attention to rest, ensure sleep and avoid disturbance of circulation in the ear caused by mood swings.
3. What tests should be done after tinnitus and how to determine which kind of tinnitus you have? What should I do if the final treatment is not effective?
There are subjective tinnitus and objective tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus is not heard by others, but only by yourself, while objective tinnitus can be heard by others. You can tell which one you have by having others listen to it. If it is objective tinnitus, please go for imaging tests such as ear CT. If it is subjective tinnitus, you need to have an inner ear function test.
4. Do hearing aids help to improve tinnitus?
As early as 1947 Saltzman and Ersner, proposed the therapeutic effect of hearing aids on tinnitus. Hearing aids were used for partially masking and completely masking treatment of tinnitus, and Jastreboff’s tinnitus habituation treatment also included hearing aid wearing for tinnitus patients, hearing aids, also as a supplement to the psychological treatment of tinnitus. In a survey of tinnitus patients in the United States, it was shown that 1/3 of tinnitus patients, who wear hearing aids at the time of their medical visit, are relieved of their tinnitus.
The benefits of hearing aids for tinnitus patients can include.
(1) Improving the patient’s hearing status, which can improve their psychological state.
(2) Distracting the patient, from hearing and tinnitus, after hearing improvement.
(3) Hearing improvement with hearing aids that allows patients to understand that communication impairment is primarily due to hearing loss and not tinnitus.
(4) Surrounding noise, noise due to amplification of hearing aids makes tinnitus masked.
5. Common causes of tinnitus
(a) Ear diseases: acute and chronic inflammation of the outer and middle ears, tympanic membrane perforation, otosclerosis and Meniere’s syndrome of the inner ear can cause tinnitus.
Brain lesions: auditory neuroma, all of which can cause tinnitus; overexertion, lack of sleep, plant nerve disorders, stress, insomnia, anxiety and depression, lack of blood supply to the brain, pre-stroke, hypertension, hypotension, anemia, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, malnutrition
Ototoxic drugs: such as gentamicin, streptomycin or kanamycin, which can also cause tinnitus.
Noise: prolonged noise exposure can all lead to hearing loss and tinnitus production.
Other dietary and lifestyle habits: bad habits such as caffeine, alcohol and smoking.
6. Formal examination and treatment that should be carried out after the appearance of tinnitus.
(1) Detailed recording of the nature, pitch, loudness, duration and side of the tinnitus.
(2) Do routine otologic examination, including otoscopy, nasal cavity and nasopharynx examination.
(3) Do audiometric tests: pure tone hearing threshold determination, acoustic impedance, and tinnitus matching.
Based on the results of the above three items to understand tinnitus and hearing, assess the nature of tinnitus and make a preliminary diagnosis. If Meniere’s disease or postcochlear lesions are suspected, further inner ear function tests and temporal bone CT or MRI should be added. when medical and orthopedic lesions are suspected, blood and urine tests and brain Doppler and cervical spine films should be added.
7. Prevention and treatment of tinnitus.
(1) Pay attention to rest time and rest, ensure sleep; actively treat tension, anxiety, depression and insomnia. Request assistance from neurologists and psychologists for improvement if necessary.
(2) Actively treat the ear and brain diseases that cause tinnitus. That is, active treatment of the primary disease of the ear is required.
(3) Improve systemic conditions. Tinnitus is an alarm for systemic conditions, often suggesting hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia, anemia and malnutrition, and is corrected or relieved in a timely manner.
(4) Avoid the use of ototoxic drugs. Drug-induced deafness If tinnitus occurs because of the use of ototoxic drugs, prompt discontinuation of the drug and vigorous medical treatment.
(5) Avoidance of strong noise exposure.
(6) Masking therapy. Depending on the intensity and frequency of the tinnitus, the sound of the tinnitus can be masked with appropriate sounds, such as music.
(7) Other physical therapies.
(8) Habit therapy. If organic lesions are ruled out by various tests, you can try to slowly adapt to the sound of tinnitus, and the disturbance of tinnitus to your life will slowly become less after you get used to it. For example, if you live by the railroad, the sound of the train is very disturbing to you when you first live there, but after a long time, you will not feel that the sound of the train is disturbing to your sleep after you slowly adapt to it.
(9) Appropriate use of drugs to improve microcirculation will be of some help for tinnitus due to ischemia or microcirculation disorders.