Tinnitus
TInnitus is often associated with hearing loss. Here at The Hearing Space, our Clinical Audiologist will carry out detailed tests, alongside a thorough assessment of how tinnitus is impacting your daily life.
What is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the name given to a ringing in the ears, buzzing in the ears, hissing in the ears or pulsating sounds in the ears, that is heard in the absence of any external sound to the head. Read more in our blog What is tinnitus? – blog
The impact of tinnitus can vary from mildly annoying to extremely troublesome and for some people, can severely impact their lives. Many individuals often notice that their tinnitus appears worse during time of stress, or indeed was first noticed during a particularly stressful period of their lives.
What causes tinnitus?
There is no single cause for tinnitus. Rather, tinnitus appears for a variety of reasons and research is still revealing new understandings about these causes.
Often, tinnitus occurs alongside some degree of hearing loss. This is why it is important to seek the advice of a hearing professional if you feel your hearing has changed. Hearing test in Leeds
For some, tinnitus may be the first thing that is noticed, before any problems with hearing become apparent. The delicate microscopic hair like structures within the cochlea can easily become damaged due to noise exosure which often results in tinnitus and/or hearing loss. Read more in our blog. How loud is too loud?
For some, impacted ear wax can lead to ringing in the ears and this often resolves after removal of the ear wax. If you have tinnitus and think you have ear wax, it is best to find an ear wax removal clinic which has dedicated audiologists who can advise on all aspects of hearing. Ear wax removal in Leeds
For many, tinnitus is often noticed after an evening out at a music event. Typically, this goes away by the following morning, however, repeated episodes of these loud auditory events will eventually lead to some damage to the hearing mechanism.
Testing for tinnitus
It is necessary to fully assess your hearing if you are experiencing tinnitus to find out if you have any degree of hearing loss or if there is any ear wax blocking your ears.
A full history will also be taken to look at the impact your tinnitus is having on your life as we know tinnitus affects people very differently.
If you would like to quickly check your hearing, please use our online screening check. Free online hearing test
Management of tinnitus
Depending on your hearing test results, and the impact that tinnitus is having on your life, we will agree on a personalised treatment plan.
This may involve the use of amplification (hearing devices) to manage any hearing loss that is found. Research has shown that wearing hearing devices can often lessen the impact of tinnitus.
Further to this, sound enrichment or sound therapy can be used to complement amplification. Many of the latest digital hearing aids we provide in our Leeds practice, have special tinnitus features.
What is sound therapy for tinnitus?
Listening to white noise, nature sounds, or a wide range of specialist music sources can be useful as part of a holistic treatment plan.
These can be listened to during the day and night if sleep is a particular challenge.
Modern digital hearing aids often have their own tinnitus sound libraries, however with the ability to stream from smart phones to hearing aids, there is unlimited potential to select suitable soundscapes to listen to.
Cognitive based therapies for tinnitus
Tinnitus for many people can both be a cause of stress and be caused by stress.
We live in an age where stress seems to be everywhere and managing stress is helpful for a wide range of health related conditions. Tinnitus can lead to anxiety or depression or can at least make these conditions worse.
It is understandable that having tinnitus can lead to stress, but also it is now known that stress for some individuals can cause or worsen tinnitus.
For this reason, talking therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and approaches based on Mindfulness, alongside a range of relaxation therapies have generated recent research in the treatment of tinnitus.
How you think and relate to your tinnitus can have a huge effect on how it impacts on your life.
Our Clinical Director has personal experience of tinnitus and has been interested in its negative effect on mental health for many years. The Hearing Space provides a calm, relaxing environment in which to openly discuss how tinnitus affects you personally.
Please contact us for more information. Contact The Hearing Space
Tel : 0113 8730444
E: hello@thehearingspace.co.uk