There are few conditions that are more difficult to comprehend for those who don’t suffer from tinnitus. That’s because unless you’re afflicted with tinnitus, you won’t feel, see or hear the symptoms in the same way you would other ailments.
Tinnitus is a very real and extremely difficult experience for the nearly 50 million Americans who have it. Tinnitus is best described as ringing in the ears, but the American Tinnitus Association says, it can present sufferers with whistling, hissing, swooshing, clicking, and buzzing. Maybe the most discouraging part of tinnitus is that these sounds aren’t detectable by others, which can lead to confusion, disorientation, depression and delayed diagnosis.
The number is really staggering when you take into consideration that 15 percent of the overall public has tinnitus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that approximately 20 million of those people have what’s known as burdensome chronic tinnitus, while another two million suffer from symptoms that are extreme and debilitating.
In order to augment their hearing and drown out the ringing, people with tinnitus frequently try hearing aids. There are everyday things you can do to reduce the ringing along with using hearing aids.
If you have tinnitus here are 10 things to avoid:
- Excess earwax; There’s no doubt that earwax serves a beneficial role in the in the overall health of your ears. But actually dirt is trapped and our ears are protected by this sludge that we hate. That said, too much accumulation can cause tinnitus to get worse. To make certain it doesn’t build up to an unsafe amount, your doctor can clear some of it out and help with prevention.
- Loud sounds; It may be obvious but the noises you’re hearing internally can be exacerbated by loud noises. If a situation happens where you will be exposed to loud noises, be mindful. This includes construction sites, concerts, and loud restaurants. Consider protecting your ears with earplugs if you can’t steer clear of the noise. Earplugs can be very helpful for people whose job involves using loud machinery.
- Jaw issues; If you’re having pain in your jaw, you should already be consulting a doctor, but particularly if you also have tinnitus. Minimizing jaw pain might have some effect on your tinnitus because the jaw and ears share nerves and ligaments.
- Infections; There’s a long-standing commentary about the need to cure the common cold, specifically because a lingering cold can quickly change into a sinus infection. Make sure you’re reducing your exposure to ear and sinus infections because they have been known to intensify tinnitus.
- Poor sleeping habits; Mom wasn’t joking when she said you needed those eight hours each night. Getting enough sleep can assist you to avoid tinnitus triggers and also offers a wide variety of other health benefits.
- Harmful blood pressure levels; Keeping track of your blood pressure is an essential preventive tip that can help keep you safe from many ailments, but it also just might keep your tinnitus symptoms at bay. You should be careful about consistently checking your blood pressure because both high and low blood pressure can make tinnitus worse.
- Alcohol; Your cholesterol and heart health can be positively affected by drinking a small glass of wine daily, or so the old saying goes. But when it comes to alcohol and tinnitus, you can have too much of a good thing. Drinking too much alcohol increases your blood pressure, which makes the ringing louder for many people.
- Smoking; Smoking is another habit that can harm your blood pressure. Also, it can make the tinnitus worse by shrinking the blood vessels to the ears.
- Caffeine; Once again, a spike in tinnitus levels goes along with this influence due to a rise in blood pressure. You will most likely notice a change in sleeping habits if you consume too much caffeine.
- Some medicines; Over-the-counter medicines like aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be very effective at easing pain, but they may actually make your tinnitus symptoms worse. There are other prescription medications including antibiotics and cancer drugs that can also have an impact on tinnitus. But before you stop taking a medication that was prescribed by your doctor, you should get a consultation.
Although there’s no official cure for tinnitus, there are ways to control the symptoms and take back your life. Give these 10 suggestions a shot, and you might be surprised with the improvements in your symptoms and your general health. If these don’t help, make an appointment with a hearing specialist.