Tinnitus is a medical condition characterised by the perception of sound or noise in the ears or head without any external source of the sound. The word Tinnitus stems from the Latin for ringing and can often be perceived as buzzing, humming, roaring, crickets, hissing, whooshing and many others. The intensity and duration of the tinnitus can be different depending on the individual.

Tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss, and it can be caused by a variety of factors, such as exposure to loud noise, certain medications, ear infections and neurological disorders. Tinnitus can be temporary or chronic and may affect one or both ears.

Tinnitus can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life, causing stress, anxiety and difficulty sleeping. There is no cure for tinnitus, but treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy, sounds therapy and hearing aids can help manage the symptoms and improve quality of life.

The tinnitus is categorised into two groups

• Objective Tinnitus

• Subjective Tinnitus

OBJECTIVE TINNITUS

The objective tinnitus can be heard from other than tinnitus sufferer can hear it. It is very Rare and usually related to mechanical dysfunction in and around the ear.

The found of objective tinnitus can often described by “Pulsatile”, “Blowing” or “Clincking”

• Pulsatile – Sounds are associated with Vascular problems

• Blowing – Sounds associated with breathing in particular Eustachian tube dysfunction

• Clicking – Sounds are thought to be rapid contractions of the soft palate or middle ear muscles.

SUBJECTIVE TINNITUS

The subjective tinnitus is the most common and usually related to hearing loss. Different to objective tinnitus, it does not correlate with any external sound nor with any internally generated sound in the body. The subjective tinnitus can be further broken down into sensorineural and conductive subjective tinnitus.

Here are some of the most common cause of sensorineural subjective tinnitus:

• noise induced hearing loss

• Presbycusis (Age related)

• Meniere’s disease

• Acoustic Neuroma

• Heavy Metal poisoning

• Ototoxic medication - Mycin family, chemotherapy drugs, quinine, loop diuretics and some antidepressants

• Head injury

• Metabolic disorders - thyroid disease , hypolidiemea

• and more

Here are some of the most common cause of conductive subjective tinnitus:

• Ear wax or freign body blockage

• Eustachian tube sydfunction (Head colds, sinus issues, Otitis media and more)

• Acoustic shock

• Temporary thresholds shift

• Otitis externa

• Collapsed ear canals