Walking in the woods, the breeze coming in and the cicadas chirping in your ears from time to time is really pleasant! But there is another situation, people will often feel the sound of cicadas, buzzing, hissing and other monotonous or mixed sound in the ear, but in fact there is no corresponding sound in the surrounding environment, is it an illusion? No! It’s tinnitus! What is tinnitus? Tinnitus is an abnormal sound sensation that occurs in the absence of any external stimuli, which means that it is a subjective sensation. Tinnitus can be transient or persistent, but severe tinnitus can be very disturbing and stressful. If the tinnitus is transient and comes and goes, it is generally a physiological phenomenon, so there is no need to be overly nervous and you can just let it go. If the tinnitus is persistent, especially if it is accompanied by other symptoms such as deafness, vertigo, or headache, you should be alert and seek medical attention as soon as possible. Based on the patient’s complaints, the doctor can easily determine whether the patient has tinnitus, but the diagnosis of the cause of tinnitus requires the help of a series of tests, including routine ENT examinations, audiological examinations, tinnitus tests, and sometimes even some necessary neurological and systemic disease examinations. Therefore, patients should go to a regular hospital to seek professional diagnosis. Only when the nature and characteristics of tinnitus are identified, as well as the possible lesion sites, can the treatment plan be determined in a targeted manner.
The causes of tinnitus are complex and can be divided into two categories: ① otogenic diseases (i.e., related to ear diseases) are often accompanied by hearing loss, such as those caused by ototoxic drug poisoning, viral infections, and insufficient blood supply to the inner ear. ② Non-otogenic diseases, these patients often have tinnitus in addition to other symptoms of the corresponding disease, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, traumatic brain injury, etc.
Like other diseases, early diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus can help improve the condition and recovery. For example, the ototoxicity of aminoglycoside antibiotics is often preceded by tinnitus, followed by hearing loss, which should be stopped immediately when tinnitus occurs. When tinnitus occurs in patients with anemia or hypertension, it indicates that the condition is worsening and should be alarmed. So, what kind of tinnitus needs to be treated? For tinnitus caused by surgical lesions (e.g. posterior cochlea lesions, vascular malformations, etc.), it is necessary to receive surgical treatment as soon as possible; for tinnitus caused by other diseases (e.g. hypertension, cervical spondylosis, secretory otitis media, Ménière’s disease, etc.), treatment should be based on the principle of controlling these diseases. For patients whose tinnitus has seriously disturbed their normal work, life or sleep, they should fully understand the long-term and difficult nature of treatment, and actively cooperate with the doctor to carry out treatment and correctly understand the effect of treatment. Some patients who have a long history of tinnitus and feel that the tinnitus is strong at the beginning, but over time, they feel that they have adapted to it and the tinnitus has not increased, and it does not affect their work, life or sleep, and after thorough examination by the doctor, no disease is found. For patients with tinnitus and hearing loss, hearing aids are the preferred option. Since tinnitus is affected by many factors, patients should also pay attention to the following matters in the treatment of tinnitus: 1. Once you have tinnitus, don’t be overly nervous, but receive timely medical treatment. During the consultation and treatment process, listen to the doctor’s instruction and actively cooperate with the treatment. And you can proactively play other advantages (such as hobbies and love of your job) to distract yourself from tinnitus, adjust your life rhythm and cultivate more points of interest. 2. Avoid prolonged stay in strong noise environment or excessive exposure to noise. Avoid or cautiously use ototoxic drugs, smoke less, drink less, have a regular life and rest, and do not sleep too long (7-8 hours for middle-aged and young people, 6 hours of sleep for the elderly is enough). 3. Since the cause of tinnitus is slow and the course of the disease does not occur within a short period of time, treatment generally takes a long time, such as tinnitus masking therapy and relaxation therapy, and at least a one-month course of treatment must be completed before the treatment effect can be evaluated. Therefore, patients should be persistent in cooperating with the treatment process and should not give up easily.