Tinnitus, that constant ringing or buzzing in the ears, is a condition that affects 50
million americans. It can be very frustrating when it is recurring and can even affect your
daily life when it not treated. In this video, Ill go over what tinnitus is,
what causes it, effective options out there in terms of treatment, and things you can do
right now to better manage your tinnitus and help prevent it, so stay tuned till the end.
Hi guys, yaseen arsalan, media pharmacist here on youtube where I help you guys make better
and informed decisions about your health. this week's video is on how to get rid of tinnitus.
Be sure to smash that like button below NOW to help more people find this video,
so we can all beat tinnitus together. Also, while you're at it, hit that subscribe button
too to stay up to date with new weekly videos. And without further ado, lets talk about tinnitus.
First things first, its important to note that tinnitus is a symptom and not
a disease It’s a sign that something is wrong with your auditory system,
which includes your ear, the auditory nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain,
and the parts of the brain that process sound. . So with that said,
the methods in treating tinnitus, will rely on treating the underlying condition
that is causing the tinnitus in the first place. Now, what can some of those underlying conditions
be that is causing all this ringing in my ear? Good question. This isnt a full list,
but some of the common underlying causes are: a head or neck injury in the past, an ear infection,
a temporomandibular joint disorder, depression, anxiety, insomnia, Ménière’s disease, and
certain medications which Ive listed below in the description that are known to be ototoxic, which
means they can cause damage to the inner ear. With that said, always consult with your doctor
first if you feel like medicine is the cause of your ringing ears before stopping anything.
Other possible causes can be a buildup of earwax thats touching the eardrum
and constant exposure to loud noises. So if thats you, please have your doctor or audiologist
examine your ears, remove excess earwax, and stay away from loud noises or concerts.
You see, tinnitus doesnt only have to be ringing, it can be buzzing, whistling, roaring,
or even humming. And its a tough condition for doctors to study because there really is no
way to measure it directly. The only way of knowing, is if the patient tells us they have
it. And if it lasts longer than six months, it is known as chronic tinnitus.
But what is actually producing that sound? Good question.
One of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the hair cells in the cochlea.
These cells help transform sound waves into nerve signals. If the auditory pathways or circuits in
the brain don't get the signals they're expecting from the cochlea, the brain starts to increase
the gain to detect the sound signal. Its kind of like, when you turn up the volume on a car
radio when you're trying to find a station's signal. The result is an electrical noise we
call tinnitus. Its like phantom limb pain in an amputee — the brain is producing abnormal nerve
signals to compensate for missing input. Now enough background, lets get into the
treatment options. By the time your watching this video, I'd assume you have tried many options,
let me know what your thoughts are in the comments below about any of them. But I say, 5 treatments
stand out and have shown to be effective. Number 1: Noise suppression. This especially can
help if your symptoms are worsened at night when youre trying to fall asleep. You can dry to drown
out the noise with some white noise or background noise from Fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers and
air conditioners. There are also devices which produce simulated environmental sounds such as
falling rain or ocean waves which can help mask the ringing with sound coming from something else.
Number 2: Hearing aids. Many people who have tinnitus also have hearing loss. Hearing aids
may help provide relief from tinnitus by making sounds louder and the tinnitus less noticeable.
Number 3: Tinnitus retraining therapy. Which follow up studies suggest it provides relief
for around 80% of people. A trained professional or audiologist, walks you thru wearing a device
that emits low level noise to retrain the auditory system to accept abnormal sounds
rather than find them disruptive. Ongoing sessions are needed, but it has seemed to help people cope
better with their symptoms. Number 4: Counseling options.
Cognitive behavioral therapy or (CBT) or acceptance and commitment therapy or (ACT)
with a psychologist can help you learn ways to limit the attention you give to tinnitus to help
better manage the stress and anxiety it causes. Number 5: Visit your dentist? Now you might be
thinking, what on earth does that have to do with my ears. Sometimes tinnitus is produced by stress
on the jaw and neck muscle or like we mentioned earlier, temporomandibular disorder. If you are
one to clench your teeth or grind them at night, which is shown to be another cause of tinnitus.
A dentist can help provide you solutions to preventing this altogether.
There is currently no scientifically proven cure for most cases of chronic
tinnitus but The search for a definitive cure is ongoing and real progress is being made,
so until then, take these next 5 tips i have to prevent tinnitus from becoming worse.
Number 1: Avoid irritants. reduce your exposure to things that may make your tinnitus worse.
This includes loud noises obviously, caffeine and nicotine. So if you currently smoke,
now is a great time to consider quitting. umber 2: Manage stress. Stress can make
tinnitus worse. Find out what works for managing stress and keep a healthy routine with doing
just that. Whether that is thru relaxation therapy, exercise, or talking to someone.
Number 3: Minimize alcohol consumption.
Alcohol increases the force of your blood by dilating your blood vessels, causing greater
blood flow, especially in the inner ear area. Number 4: If your cause is medicine related, talk
to your doctor about possibly changing you to a different form of medicine that equally suffices.
Number 5: Neck Exercises. I left a valuable link in the description below, that looks at the top
three exercises to prevent tinnitus, in which you can do right now at home, or wherever you are.
I really wish, I had a long list of alternative options for you guys to try out as well.
But unfortunately, Large scale studies were unable to prove that ginkgo biloba helped with tinnitus
symptoms and A 2016 Cochrane Review also concluded that evidence was not sufficient to support taking
zinc supplements to reduce symptoms either. But what I can tell you is that just in 2020,
information about recent clinical trials indicated that bimodal neuromodulation may be a promising
treatment for reducing the symptoms.. Which is a noninvasive technique that involves the pairing
of an electrical stimulus to the tongue that is associated with sounds in the ears, which
the research is ongoing, but I remain hopeful in it so that we can finally head a more promising
direction. Also, otonomy is working on a treatment that is currently in phase 3,
which i'm excited about as well. Because lets face it, it is frustrating when we run out of options.
Anyways guys, I hope this breakdown was useful to you guys and I hope that you did enjoy this
video and learned something new. I also hope you find a better way to manage tinnitus. Like
the video if you did enjoy it, and subscribe to stay on board with all my other weekly health and
wellness videos. Thanks for sticking tuned till the end, and as always, see you on the next one.