Tinnitus is usually described as ringing in the ears but the type of sound and the intensity of noise and pain can vary greatly. The noise will appear to come from one or both ears or ‘in my head' and victims have reported whistling, humming, whooshing, wind or wave noises. If the noise persists to a level that intrudes on the normal life of the victim the need for a lasting method of tinnitus relief becomes a major goal.
Such sounds are not uncommon during or after a heavy cold or a bout of flu but if you are suffering from such noises and the sounds continue, it's time to seek proper medical help. Whilst tinnitus is not in itself considered a life threatening condition your symptoms may be caused by something different and perhaps more serious.
The noise might be mild and intermittent and in such cases the patient perhaps considers it just an irritation and puts up with it, not bothering to look for any tinnitus relief programs. However at the other end of the scale a continuous loud noise, even affected by head or neck movement in severe cases, can cause immense distress and be a serious burden for the victim. Such cases need immediate attention to obtain even temporary tinnitus relief.
Most people with tinnitus suffer impaired hearing too so this in itself can cause further problems personally and socially. Some theories suggest that the internal noise disruption upsets the sufferers' ability to properly hear external sounds within the same range of frequencies as their tinnitus sounds.
Objective tinnitus.
When the sound can be heard by someone else as well as the patient this is calledobjective tinnitus. Many say this is easier to diagnose and treat and is often caused by muscle spasms around the middle ear.
If people experience a sound that beats in time with the pulse this is known aspulsatile tinnitusorvascular tinnitus. Pulsatile tinnitus is often caused by changes in the rate of blood flowing around the ear, or even when the sufferer for some reason becomes aware of the blood flow in the ear.
Whilst most tinnitus symptoms are not caused by a life threatening condition pulsatile tinnitus may be caused by blood or circulatory malfunction so it is imperative that the sufferer seeks proper professional advice.
Subjective tinnitus.
When the tinnitus noises are heard only by the sufferer this is known assubjective tinnitusand it is often very difficult or even impossible to determine the specific cause of the problem.
It is thought that there are two distinct types of subjective tinnitus:otictinnitus, caused by problems within the ear or the acoustic nerve, andsomatictinnitus, caused by problems outside the ear including the brain and nervous system.
There is strong evidence that the level and degree of tinnitus can be stress-related so any program of tinnitus relief should take this into account.
Tinnitus relief.
It is important to understand that in many cases of severe tinnitus there is no immediate easy fix. That said there has been a massive increase in the number of cures and cases of significant and lasting tinnitus relief using holistic or natural whole being treatments. The easy fix for some immediate relief for you might actually be simply cutting down your intake of coffee or alcohol which in turn may lower the ringing in your ears to a level you can cope with. And then you will be better placed to start work on other aspects of your general health to enjoy further improvement.
