What Is Tinnitus? How does it affect your hearing health?

What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is the abrupt ringing sound that occurs in your ears. There is no specific source of this sound, but scientists believe that it happens when the internal organs of your ears are malfunctioning in some way. Tinnitus is a fairly common phenomenon and even in normal people with perfect hearing, it can occur on rare occasions. In some cases, it is not considered a sureshot sign of hearing loss, rather, just a signal of your entire ear checking its performing course. 

However, in some cases people may experience tinnitus more often and in higher volumes than others. Moreover, tinnitus is not just a ringing sound, it can occur in various types, such as crackling, booming, vibrating, screeching and whistling sounds. Let's look at exactly what ages does tinnitus occur and the various degrees of its severity. Scroll down to find out more. 

At what ages is it most common?

1. 6-18 years: As a child, you might have experienced tinnitus as a sudden and ascending ringing sound in your ears. You might also have faced it in your teens from time to time, but would have ignored it because it may not have been that loud and frightening. Unless, at this age an individual finds it very loud, so much as to suddenly not being able to hear what others are saying, then this could be an early sign of hearing loss. 
2. 18- 30 years: This specific age group has more to worry about tinnitus than any other age group on this list. As this is the age of education and job-seeking. In case it's just mild tinnitus, then you have nothing to worry about, but in case it's severe, there are numerous distressing side effects to tinnitus that include drowsiness, sleep issues, difficulties focusing, memory issues, depression, anxiety, and irritability. Although these side effects may not be serious, it can nevertheless have a detrimental effect on your quality of life and job performance.
3. 30- 50 years: Tinnitus at this age should be of concern. Because if you seem to experience tinnitus during this age, chances are it can only get worse from there. The number of registered cases of diagnosed deafness during this age is especially high among Indians. If an individual experiences tinnitus during this age, it is highly recommended they seek consultation from an audiologist at the earliest. 
4. 50- 75 years: During oldage, tinnitus is a fairly common phenomenon, especially for those individuals who have been exposed to prolonged loud noises during their younger days due to various reasons like their occupations, family conflicts and noise pollution in traffic. You might have seen many people that fall under this age group wearing hearing aids. This is mainly due to the exhaustion of the internal organs in their ears over a long time. 

When is tinnitus a cause for concern and how can it be treated?

For some individuals, tinnitus can be very frequent and loud, Doctors still can't find an underlying problem to why tinnitus occurs. Doctors claim that tinnitus is just a cause of your weakened auditory nerves or your ears sending spontaneous sounds to your brain while adjusting its working. Tinnitus might go away on its own, but in extreme cases it is usually treated by subduing the problem with the help of hearing aids or medication.

Hearing loss brought by unrelenting and blaring tinnitus is sort of common in people who are at the starting phase of hearing impairment, but it is sometimes the cause of a very harmful type of hearing loss. 

The most effective ways to treat severe tinnitus and the hearing loss that is caused by it are as follows: 

• Hearing aids
• Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT)
• Music and sound therapy
• Yoga and guided meditation
• Softwares and smartphone applications

It is crucial to remember that no single treatment will be effective for everyone. But hearing aids are one of the most frequently suggested treatments to improve deafening tinnitus.