Reviewed by Mr. Ranjeet Kumar
Sr. Audiologist, Speech Therapist & Cochlear Implant Specialist, BASLP on
Nowadays hearing loss is a common problem that is related to age factors, or other factors. But sometimes a person experiences various phantom Tinnitus sounds while hearing and conversation. Sometimes Tinnitus Getting Worse in some cases.
Then this gives rise to a new situation regarded as tinnitus.
While tinnitus is rarely a sign of a serious situation, chanting phantom, ringing, and hearing you buzzing is unquestionably annoying. It is also incredibly common.
You can purchase the latest hearing aids at a fair price through HearingSol, If you need any assistance or you have a query regarding Tinnitus and Hearing Loss, feel free to call us at +91-9327901950. We are always here to help you.
In tinnitus, most of the things make those sounds worst. The things which make loud sounds such as machinery, concerts can result in the short term or permanent hearing loss.
There are many reasons for tinnitus – constant contact with the loud noise, construction of ear wax, old age, medication, etc., and there are many things that causes tinnitus to get louder.
Tinnitus is thought to affect 50 million Americans. It usually occurs after the age of 50 years, but children and adolescents can experience it, too.
Thus let us study this problem in detail along with the causes that can make tinnitus worse.
About Tinnitus
Tinnitus is the hearing which comes from inside your body instead of the external source. It is not a disease but an underlying symptom or situation. Tinnitus is the perception of noise or ringing in the ears.
A common problem, tinnitus affects about 1 in 5 people. Tinnitus isn’t a condition itself — it’s a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, ear injury, or a circulatory system disorder.
Tinnitus is noises in the head, not related to any psychiatric condition. The noise can be heard anywhere in the head or in one or both ears
It is often described as “ringing in the ears”, although many sounds can be heard, including the following:
- Buzzing
- Humming
- Grinding
- Hissing
- Whistling
How To Treat Tinnitus?
Antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs. Tinnitus treatment often involves a combination of approaches. Your doctor may recommend medication as part of your treatment.
These drugs may help make your tinnitus symptoms less annoying, thereby improving your quality of life. There are various ways too like
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Hearing Aid
- Wearing good quality earplugs
- Behavioral Therapy
Things That Make Tinnitus Worse
Is tinnitus getting worse? Here are some factors which cause tinnitus to get worse.
1. Loud Noises
Loud noises, such as those from heavy equipment, chain saws, and firearms, are common sources of noise-related hearing loss.
Portable music devices, such as MP3 players or iPods, also can cause noise-related hearing loss if played loudly for long periods.
Tinnitus caused by short-term exposure, such as attending a loud concert, usually goes away; long-term exposure to loud sound can cause permanent damage. This way loud noise can worsen the tinnitus to a large extent.
2. Medicines And Antidepressants
Medications may worsen tinnitus to a large extent. Higher the doses of medications, the greater the risk of tinnitus. Thus the stage of tinnitus is directly proportional to the dose of medications. The causes are as follows:
- Antibiotics, including polymyxin B, erythromycin, vancomycin, and neomycin
- Cancer medications, including mechlorethamine and vincristine
- Water pills (diuretics), such as bumetanide, ethacrynic acid or furosemide
- Quinine medications used for malaria or other health conditions
- Certain antidepressants may worsen tinnitus
- Aspirin taken in uncommonly high doses (usually 12 or more a day)
3. Stress, Anxiety, And Depression
Unmanaged stress, anxiety, fatigue contributes to increasing tinnitus. Time management and desirable stress help in the efficient functioning of the system.
If the stress is left unmanaged then it will adversely affect our auditory system. As a result, tinnitus will worsen automatically. Thus stress management directly helps in tinnitus management.
There are different ways to relax and get yourself in control. Try exercise, deep breathing, massage, or acupuncture will help you out.
4. Jaw Problems
Problems with the temporomandibular joint, the joint on each side of your head in front of your ears, where your lower jawbone meets your skull, can cause tinnitus.
Your jaw, or temporomandibular joint (TMJ), shares nerves and ligaments with your middle ear. Problems here can cause ear pain and noise in your ears.
While talking and chewing it would hurt, might be your jaw will pop. A dentist, oral surgeon, or otolaryngologist (also known as an ear, nose, and throat doctor, or ENT) can diagnose and treat it so the ringing doesn’t get worse.
5. Earwax
Earwax protects your ear canal by trapping dirt and slowing the growth of bacteria. It is made up of excretions, fatty acids, sebum, skin particles, and proteins and it acts as a barrier, protecting the inner ear from dust and bacteria.
Usually, earwax falls out when the jaw moves, but when someone’s glands produce too much earwax, it can cause a blockage in the middle ear.
Generally, earwax is protective in nature. But, when it hardens, the ears become clogged and cause pain, ringing, etc. Too much accumulation of earwax is responsible for the ear clogging. There are various earwax drops & removal kit available in the market which you can use to get rid of it.
If the blockage touches the eardrum, it can change the pressure and affect the way the drum vibrates. This may be the cause of tinnitus or can worsen previous tinnitus.
When too much earwax accumulates, it becomes too hard to wash away naturally. Concert your doctor he will look up directly in your ears and remove it with ease.
6. Infections
As we know infections can reduce the recovery of the body cells and affects the system adversely. Similarly, in the case of ear infections, it damages the auditory system and mitigates the growth of the recovery cells and lead to tinnitus.
So, the body should be protected from every possible infection. In the case of ear infection, the patient must visit an audiologist to protect himself from worsening the situation.
7. Allergies
For treating symptoms you try to take allergy medicine that will result in allergies. Allergies disturb the body and to get rid of such allergies you take medications.
As a result, the situation becomes worse. Allergies affect the auditory system and cause hearing problems to a large extent.
Thus medications taken orally or injected to get rid of allergies can worsen tinnitus. Thus patients are advised to treat allergies as per doctor advice.
8. Blood Pressure
A common cause of tinnitus is elevated blood pressure. Reducing stress should help bring it down.
Allowing blood pressure to stay elevated cuts off the blood supply to your inner ear. This will cause more serious hearing loss with time.
Hypertension and factors that increase blood pressure, such as stress, alcohol, and caffeine, can make tinnitus more noticeable. Normal blood pressure protects your ear. So try to maintain it.
9. Sleep Problems
On an average 8 hours of sleep is necessary for the good and proper functioning of the system. Insomnia can have many negative impacts on the body. This lack of sleep disturbs your auditory or heating system.
If you want to live your ear long and protect yourself from tinnitus, then take adequate sleep. Unmanaged stress and lack of sleep will decrease the lifespan of the ear and cause tinnitus.
10. Migraines
Sleep and migraine are interconnected to each other. If stress and sleep are managed properly, then there is no chance for a migraine to disturb the body.
A migraine gives rise to various hearing problems. So better to ease a migraine. If it goes worse than the concert your doctor as soon as possible.
11. Alcohol
No doubt one should avoid alcohol as it acts as a poison for your body. Alcohol increases blood pressure and disturbs the whole system including the auditory system. It damages the inner cells of earing and causes hearing impairment.
12. Caffeine
Drugs, caffeine, and other types of alcohol increases blood pressure and cause hearing problems. Try to get rid of coffee, chocolate, ice cream, frozen yogurt, breakfast cereals, and hot cocoa.
13. Atherosclerosis
With age and buildup of cholesterol and other deposits, major blood vessels close to your middle and inner ear lose some of their elasticity — the ability to flex or expand slightly with each heartbeat.
That causes blood flow to become more forceful, making it easier for your ear to detect the beats. You can generally hear this type of tinnitus in both ears.
As we can conclude that tinnitus is a problem rather than a disease. Still, we have to adopt various precautions in order to protect yourself from tinnitus. We should be aware of how to manage tinnitus.
The above factors that worsen tinnitus should be managed. As a result, on the basis of management of the above factors, we can manage tinnitus.
14. Smoking
Leave the habit of smoking. The nicotine present in cigarettes can make your tinnitus worse because the smoking narrows the blood vessel that brings oxygen to your ears. It will result in high blood pressure too.
Will HearingSol Help With My Tinnitus?
The most common cause of tinnitus is hearing loss. If your tinnitus is due to hearing loss, we can greatly reduce its effects.
By listening to sound to listen to your brain’s ability to improve and listen to the sound, reduce your tinnitus by reducing stress levels.
For more information about how HearingSol can help reduce your tinnitus, you can call us our toll-free number: +91-9327901950. Our experts are available 24*7 to deal with your concerns.
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