Hi, Hermina's friend
Have you ever experienced ringing in your ears, Hermina's friend?
Why are the ears ringing?
Ringing in the ears or Tinnitus is a condition when the ears feel ringing (the perception of hearing a sound without any sound stimulus).
If the ringing only lasts a few seconds/minutes and goes away on its own, it is a normal thing that can be experienced by everyone. However, if the problem of ringing ears does not go away within hours or days, it is called tinnitus. This ringing in the ears is actually not a disease, but a symptom of certain health problems.
Hearing loss is a condition that can be experienced by people of all ages, but is generally experienced by seniors aged over 65 years.
The following are several conditions that can cause someone to experience this condition:
Hearing nerve disorders
Hearing loss due to aging
Loud sounds or noises, for example hearing music that is too loud through earphones, factory workers handling heavy machinery, or hearing loud explosions.
Accumulation of wax in the ear.
Infection of the middle ear
Abnormal ear bone growth.
Meniere's disease
Head or neck injury
Side effects of certain medications
Rupture of the eardrum
Acoustic neuroma (tumor)
Metabolic Disorders: Thyroid disorders, hyperlipedemia, B12 deficiency, cardiovascular, for example hypertension or atherosclerosis
Psychogenic: depression, anxiety, Fibromyalgia, Stress
There are various causes of ringing in the ears, and sometimes it is difficult to know for sure.
A sign of tinnitus is ringing in the ears, even though there is no external sound.
Some other sounds that may also occur in people with ringing in the ears:
Rumble
Clicking sound
Hiss
Humming sound
Subjective tinnitus, or tinnitus that only the sufferer can hear, is the most common. This buzzing sound can vary in pitch from a low roar to a high-pitched scream, and you may hear it in one or both ears. In some cases, the sound can be so loud that it interferes with the ability to concentrate or hear external sounds. Symptoms may be present all the time, or they may come and go. In rare cases, this ringing in the ears can occur as a rhythmic pulsation or whooshing sound, often along with a heartbeat. Well, this kind of condition is called pulsatile tinnitus.
Check the condition of your ears and complain to an ENT doctor
Hearing Tests may include:
Pure tone audiometry hearing examination, the doctor will ask you to sit in a soundproof room wearing earphones that send certain sounds to one ear at a time.
Tympanometry
Autoacoustic Emissions
BERRA
Movement: The doctor may ask you to move your eyes, close your jaw, or move your neck, arms, and legs. If the condition changes or worsens, it can help identify the underlying disorder that requires treatment
CT scan or MRI examination
Laboratory Examination: The doctor may take a blood sample to check for anemia, thyroid problems, heart disease or vitamin deficiencies (complete blood count, fat levels, liver, kidney function)
Each sufferer requires different treatment. The determination depends on the causal factors behind the ringing in the ears. For example, the doctor will change the medicine you are using if the tinnitus you are experiencing is a side effect of the medicine. If earwax buildup proves to be the trigger, the doctor will recommend ear cleaning methods or administer ear drops to treat this. However, if the cause of tinnitus cannot be detected, the treatment is certainly different.
Treatment aims to suppress the tinnitus sound as much as possible so that it does not interfere with activities.
These steps usually include:
Use of hearing aids
Operation procedure
Sound therapy, for example, uses other sounds (such as radio sound or recorded rain sounds) to cover up the tinnitus sound you are experiencing.
Thinnitus retraining therapy (TRT). In this therapy, the sufferer will be trained to get used to the tinnitus sound they experience
Apart from therapy and medical measures, there are also several methods that you can apply at home to control this hearing loss.
For example, listening to calming music and relaxing.
Tinnitus affects people differently. For some people, ringing in the ears can significantly impact quality of life.
If you have tinnitus, you may also experience:
Fatigue
Stress
Sleep disturbance
Difficulty concentrating
Memory problems
Depression
Anxiety and irritability
Headache
Problems with work and family life
In many cases, this condition occurs as a result of something you cannot prevent. However, some precautions can help prevent certain types of tinnitus, namely:
Use ear protection (ear plugs) For example when using a chainsaw, playing a musical instrument, working in an industry that uses loud machinery or using a firearm (especially a pistol or shotgun)
Turn down the volume. Long-term exposure to loud music without ear protection or listening to music at very high volumes through headphones can cause hearing loss.
Maintain cardiovascular health. Regular exercise, a balanced nutritional diet, and keeping blood vessels healthy can help prevent ringing in the ears associated with obesity and blood vessel disorders.
Limit alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. These substances, especially if you use them excessively, can affect blood flow and contribute to tinnitus