Tinnitus can be a nightmare to live with. It can seem like no matter what you do or where you go, that annoying and persistent ringing just won’t go away. At best it’s an ever-present irritation and distraction that prevents you from being able to concentrate properly. At worst, it can prevent you from being able to follow even a simple conversation at the dinner table and even keep you lying awake at night unable to sleep. The bad news that (at least at the time of writing) no amount of medication can make tinnitus go away.

The good news is that there are a number of ways in which tinnitus can be treated.

What causes tinnitus?

In order to effectively combat the irritating symptom that is tinnitus, it’s helpful to try and ascertain the root cause. While there are many steps which can be taken to prevent or mitigate tinnitus like cutting out salt and caffeine, avoiding stress and reducing your alcohol intake, the better you know the cause of your tinnitus, the easier it becomes to treat it.

Common causes are;

Age related hearing loss.
Earwax buildup and /or hardened earwax.
Persistent exposure to loud noises.
Head and neck injuries.
Benign tumors on the cranial nerve.
Genetic conditions like Meniere’s disease.

Treating tinnitus

Depending on the cause of your tinnitus, there are a number of ways in which you could attempt to treat it. Effective treatments include;

Getting a hearing aid

Tinnitus is often a symptom of various forms of hearing loss. In many cases, being fitted with a hearing aid can mitigate this.

Listening to soft music

Silence can be deafening when you have tinnitus. Fortunately, listening to a little soft background music can help distract you from the unpleasant ringing. It can also help to relieve stress which can exacerbate tinnitus.

Exercise

Speaking of stress levels, one of the best ways to relieve stress (and with it, the symptom of tinnitus) is to partake in regular exercise. Pumping iron or sweating it out on the treadmill can not only distract you from your tinnitus, it can also help to turn the volume down on that tedious ringing.

Getting your ears cleaned out

If your tinnitus is caused by a buildup of earwax or hardened waxy deposits, you may find that getting your clogged up ear canal cleaned by a trained professional does your tinnitus a world of good.

Protecting your ears

They say that prevention is the best cure. If you are regularly exposed to loud noises or music, invest in some ear plugs or over-ear protectors. This is especially important if you play in a band or work with heavy and noisy machinery. Fail to protect your ears and you’ll find that tinnitus is your constant companion.

How your local hearing health professional can help

A qualified hearing health professional can carry out a series of tests to determine the cause of your tinnitus and recommend an appropriate course of treatment. This may include a hearing aid, cleaning of the ear canal or a referral to an ENT clinic.