Tinnitus is the sound of ringing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, or clicking that occurs inside the head. While there is no cure for chronic tinnitus, there are treatments that can help make your symptoms less noticeable. Here are some things you can do for tinnitus:
- Earwax removal: Removing an earwax blockage can decrease tinnitus symptoms.
- Treating a blood vessel condition: Underlying blood vessel conditions may require medication, surgery, or another treatment to address the problem.
- Noise suppression: Your doctor may suggest using an electronic device to suppress the noise. Devices include white noise machines, hearing aids, and maskers.
- Protect your hearing: To keep your tinnitus from getting worse, take steps to protect your hearing. If you use chain saws, are a musician, work in an industry that uses loud machinery or use firearms (especially pistols or shotguns), always wear over-the-ear hearing protection. Turn down the volume. Listening to music at very high volume through headphones can contribute to hearing loss and tinnitus. Use white noise.
- Improve your general health: Your general health can affect the severity and impact of tinnitus, so take stock of your diet, physical activity, sleep, and stress level, and take steps to improve them.
- Try behavioral strategies: Counseling can improve your well-being by helping you reduce the impact of tinnitus on your life. Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques may also help. Learn coping techniques and strategies to avoid making symptoms worse, such as by limiting your exposure to loud noise.
- Consider sound therapy: Special devices that make a quiet background noise can be put on a tabletop or nightstand or carried with you. If your tinnitus bothers you at night, you might put a media player, computer, or electric fan on a bedside table. If your symptoms are constant, you might use a combination device, which fits into the ear like hearing aids, providing sound amplification and sound generation in one device.
- Medications: There are no medications specifically for treating tinnitus, but your doctor may prescribe antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications to improve your mood or help you sleep. While certain vitamins, herbal extracts, and dietary supplements are commonly advertised as cures for the condition, none of these has been proven to be effective.
Its important to note that no single approach works for everyone, and you may need to try various combinations of techniques before you find what works for you.
