Finding A Treatment For Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a Latin word meaning ringing, specifically a ringing in the ears when there is no outside sound causing it. Finding a treatment for tinnitus has been elusive for doctors. It is a disorder affecting 12 million Americans.
Tinnitus is not categorized as a disease. It is considered to be a symptom of another illness, such as an ear infection or a foreign object in the ear, or a heavy wax buildup or an allergy. It can show up in the elderly as part of the aging process, or as a side effect to medication, or be a hereditary hearing loss. Doctors believe that most times, tinnitus is caused by a loud noise, like a gunshot, either once or many times.
Tinnitus can be extremely annoying for the person who has it. Usually, it produces a ringing noise, but there are people who experience high-pitched whining, buzzing, hissing, screaming, humming, tingling or whistling sounds. Some even say what they hear is crickets or songs or beeps or a sound like roaring ocean waves.
WebMD. Com reports that a drug used to keep alcoholics away from drinking has proven to be helpful as a treatment for tinnitus patients. In July of 2004, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved acamprosate, brand name CampralA for treating alcohol-dependent people. Two Brazilian researchers then found that the drug also worked very well for tinnitus.
The American Tinnitus Association has put out a list of treatments for tinnitus, but it warns that not even one of them is able to cure everyone. They suggest supplements like zinc or Ginkgo Biloba, homeopathy, acupuncture, cranio-sacral therapy, hypnosis, and magnets.
Some tinnitus patients experience relief with hearing aids. They have to have some amount of hearing loss from the original problem. Sometimes, a cochlear implant can be threaded into the ear, helping deaf or nearly deaf people to hear again.
A whole host of drugs have been experimented with to alleviate the ear ringing. But there is not one that has been found that specifically treats it. The drugs that have been studied include those for anti-anxiety like Xanax, antidepressants, antihistamines, anticonvulsants, and anesthetics. All were somewhat successful for some of the tinnitus sufferers.
Talking therapies have shown some success with tinnitus. Cognitive therapy is used to treat a patient's emotional reaction to the tinnitus rather than anything else. Most people with tinnitus find that stress increases the noise, so Biofeedback is often used for relaxation.
For people who are bothered by tinnitus only when trying to sleep, the sound of a fan, radio, or white noise machine is usually all that is required to relieve the problem. Avoiding caffeine is advised, as it could worsen symptoms. Don't take aspirin or aspirin products in large quantities. Hearing loss worsens the effect of tinnitus, so it is important to protect your hearing and avoid being in circumstances with loud noises to prevent any worsening of the symptoms.
There are certain rare cases in which the tinnitus has been caused by a tumor or aneurysm, and doctors will decide that treatment of the tinnitus involves fixing the main issue. A big problem is that this does not always resolve the tinnitus, although some people do enjoy some relief of their symptoms. But a sad note on this is that only a very few cases of tinnitus stem from identifiable, repairable medical conditions.
Tinnitus is not categorized as a disease. It is considered to be a symptom of another illness, such as an ear infection or a foreign object in the ear, or a heavy wax buildup or an allergy. It can show up in the elderly as part of the aging process, or as a side effect to medication, or be a hereditary hearing loss. Doctors believe that most times, tinnitus is caused by a loud noise, like a gunshot, either once or many times.
Tinnitus can be extremely annoying for the person who has it. Usually, it produces a ringing noise, but there are people who experience high-pitched whining, buzzing, hissing, screaming, humming, tingling or whistling sounds. Some even say what they hear is crickets or songs or beeps or a sound like roaring ocean waves.
WebMD. Com reports that a drug used to keep alcoholics away from drinking has proven to be helpful as a treatment for tinnitus patients. In July of 2004, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved acamprosate, brand name CampralA for treating alcohol-dependent people. Two Brazilian researchers then found that the drug also worked very well for tinnitus.
The American Tinnitus Association has put out a list of treatments for tinnitus, but it warns that not even one of them is able to cure everyone. They suggest supplements like zinc or Ginkgo Biloba, homeopathy, acupuncture, cranio-sacral therapy, hypnosis, and magnets.
Some tinnitus patients experience relief with hearing aids. They have to have some amount of hearing loss from the original problem. Sometimes, a cochlear implant can be threaded into the ear, helping deaf or nearly deaf people to hear again.
A whole host of drugs have been experimented with to alleviate the ear ringing. But there is not one that has been found that specifically treats it. The drugs that have been studied include those for anti-anxiety like Xanax, antidepressants, antihistamines, anticonvulsants, and anesthetics. All were somewhat successful for some of the tinnitus sufferers.
Talking therapies have shown some success with tinnitus. Cognitive therapy is used to treat a patient's emotional reaction to the tinnitus rather than anything else. Most people with tinnitus find that stress increases the noise, so Biofeedback is often used for relaxation.
For people who are bothered by tinnitus only when trying to sleep, the sound of a fan, radio, or white noise machine is usually all that is required to relieve the problem. Avoiding caffeine is advised, as it could worsen symptoms. Don't take aspirin or aspirin products in large quantities. Hearing loss worsens the effect of tinnitus, so it is important to protect your hearing and avoid being in circumstances with loud noises to prevent any worsening of the symptoms.
There are certain rare cases in which the tinnitus has been caused by a tumor or aneurysm, and doctors will decide that treatment of the tinnitus involves fixing the main issue. A big problem is that this does not always resolve the tinnitus, although some people do enjoy some relief of their symptoms. But a sad note on this is that only a very few cases of tinnitus stem from identifiable, repairable medical conditions.
Source...