Do Not Let Tinnitus Get The Best Of You

Many people assume that tinnitus is a condition they just have to live with. They just accept the ringing in their ears as a given that they have to simply endure, but this is not so. Read on into this article for tips and tricks to use in minimizing and managing this condition.

If you begin to develop any symptoms of tinnitus, you may want to see an Ears, Nose, and Throat Specialist or Audiologist. These two kinds of doctors are trained in dealing with tinnitus, so they would be able to both diagnose the condition as well as properly treat it.

Go see a therapist who specializes in cognitive-behavior therapy. Therapy helps you to focus on other things besides your tinnitus. Professional therapy is designed to help you release emotional baggage that exacerbates your tinnitus symptoms. You will be able to deal with it in a more productive way. You can live a happier life when you are in control of your symptoms.

If you have ever gotten a tinnitus diagnosis, it is critical to notify your doctor on your first visit with him or her. Many medications that are available over the counter can interfere with your condition. A gentle reminder will help medical professionals keep your condition in mind when treating other issues with medications.

Try to avoid stimulating drugs. Ingesting too much caffeine or other stimulants can increase your level of arousal and awareness of annoying tinnitus sounds. Therefore, limiting your intake of coffee, tea, cola beverages, and chocolate, as well as decongestants and other stimulating medications, is a simple way to help reduce the discomfort of tinnitus.

Set a big goal for yourself. Have you always wanted to travel? Do you want to learn an instrument? Place your focus on a future goal and you will be able to distract yourself from the ringing in your ears. Come up with new, more challenging goals and not only will you reach them, you will do so without thinking about your ears.

Keep busy when you have tinnitus. When you fill up your time with activities, you will not have the time to focus on the ringing in your ears. Go ahead and spoil yourself. Do fun things, and wear yourself out. There is nothing wrong with keeping yourself distracted for the sake of your sanity.

Fight tinnitus with a positive attitude. You will only be discouraged if you lay around thinking about the ringing in your ears. If you let yourself dwell on your situation, you will make things worse. Stay in a positive frame of mind and you won't be as bothered by your tinnitus symptoms.

By making some simple adjustments you can help make the noise from tinnitus a little bit more bearable. One important thing to do is to avoid any irritants that could be causing your tinnitus. If you know loud music aggravates it, then wear ear plugs to help your ears. If you smoke, you should consider quitting since nicotine is a known irritant.

Ask your doctor to review the medications you're currently on to see if any of them could be causing your tinnitus symptoms. There are quite a few drugs which can actually bring on tinnitus, so switching that pill for another option can help you to cure your tinnitus and stay healthy with your other condition.

As stated earlier in this piece, a lot of sufferers of tinnitus assume there is nothing that can be done about this annoying condition. However, now that you have read these tips, you know that there are steps you can take soon for relief. Employ them in the coming days to hear a clearer future.

Tinnitus The 3 Emotional Stages

It is a vicious cycle because tinnitus causes stress and anxiety and is also worsened by stress and anxiety. Worrying over the tinnitus can cause it to become worse. Lack of sleep due to ringing in the ears leads to fatigue which makes the ear ringing worse. These are just some of the mental and emotional side effects of tinnitus.

Expel tinnitus and the roller coaster of emotions:

At times it may be more annoying for people who do not know what is wrong with them or who have non-supportive doctors that tell them to “get over it” or to find a way to live with tinnitus.

It is a vicious cycle because tinnitus causes stress and anxiety and is also worsened by stress and anxiety. Worrying over the tinnitus can cause it to become worse. Lack of sleep due to ringing in the ears leads to fatigue which makes the ear ringing worse. These are just some of the mental and emotional side effects of tinnitus.

Many people with a hissing in the ears, like me, will discover that it completely interferes with natural essential functions of their lives. You may have a hard time concentrating, remembering things, listening to others and focusing on tasks. This makes it nearly impossible to function properly on a job or in society.

Many people with tinnitus go through the same process as people with other medical conditions and disorders. At first you may feel denial, then anger and frustration (especially if you are being told there is no cure and nothing will help) and then you may feel hopeless and depressed. You will think why this had to happen to you and harp on the fact that your life will never be the same. Next comes fear.

You may worry that you will never live a normal life again, fear that this ringing in the ears will cause havoc with your job and your family, fear that you will never be able to enjoy the same things and fear that you are going crazy or that there is something mentally “wrong” with you. At some point along the way if you hope to find relief, you will need to find acceptance.

Acceptance- With acceptance comes the realization that while you do have this condition and there is no cure for ear ringing, that doesn’t mean you have to be a victim for the rest of your life.

You will soon come to the realization that there is hope for your tinnitus and that you have stopped focusing on the ear ringing all the time you can allow your body to start the recovery. Also one should also take note of the fact that this roller coaster of emotions does not only effect the tinnitus sufferer but their families as well.

Copied with permission from: http://plrplr.com/56208/tinnitus-the-3-emotional-stages/

How Stress And Anxiety Are Connected To Tinnitus

Stress can cause many problems and exacerbate others, including Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Many individuals suffer from this malady and can deal with it on a daily basis until stress levels rise and then the Tinnitus becomes significantly worse.

Of course, there are many different reasons why an individual may develop Tinnitus, but stress and anxiety can intensify the effects of the ringing in the ears. Because of this individuals with Tinnitus need to manage the stress in their lives to minimize the effects.

In general, when an individual suffers from tinnitus the body feels as if it is being attacked at all times. So, the effects are never-ending and the body ultimately responds in a physical way with additional problems like insomnia, anxiety, and even depression. Once these responses occur they only serve to intensify the tinnitus, which is just a violent circle. Because of this it is incredibly important for sufferers to find a way to relax and keep their symptoms at bay (as much as possible) instead of stressing out and exacerbating them. Of course, this is much easier to say than to actually implement. But, nevertheless, it is very important to make an effort to achieve. Sufferers of tinnitus know this very well and try their best not to stress out because the ringing in their ears only gets worse.

It is unfortunate that tinnitus makes individuals stress out over their symptoms and then their stressing only causes their symptoms to worsen. Fortunately, for individuals with tinnitus there are ways to get stress under control before it gets out of hand and causes the individual worse ringing in their ears. One example of a way to reduce stress is to simply exercise. It has been proven that exercise really helps individuals relax, forget about what’s bothering them, and simply enjoy life. Those with tinnitus should exercise every single day in order to relax, forget about their ringing ears for just a bit, and hopefully relax enough to keep the symptoms from getting too bad. Another good option for reducing stress is to take part in yoga and meditation and even have a massage on a regular basis.

Nobody wants to have tinnitus and those who do certainly don’t want their symptoms to get any worse than they have to. Due to this individuals suffering from tinnitus should make all efforts to live a low key and relaxing life that has as little stress as possible. And, in addition to this tinnitus sufferers should do their best to exercise and take part in relaxation exercises to keep what stress they do have at bay. Many individuals suffer from tinnitus and of them approximately 90% experience exaggerated symptoms when subjected to stressful situations.

Because of this individuals with tinnitus must do all they can in order to reduce stress in their lives so they may live an enjoyable life.

Copied with permission from: http://plrplr.com/77918/how-stress-and-anxiety-are-connected-to-tinnitus/

Tinnitus – Causes and Treatment

What is Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a symptom and not a condition in itself. Tinnitus describes the symptom of being able to hear things which nobody else can, although in a rare number of cases, this isn’t true. Tinnitus is a very common condition with approximately 10% of the population suffering from Tinnitus to one degree or another. It is most commonly found in elderly people although it is becoming much more widespread in the younger population. Also, Tinnitus can be found in one or both ears or sometimes it feels like it is coming from the middle of your head.

The Symptoms of Tinnitus

Tinnitus is most commonly found in elderly people although possibly due to the different lifestyles it is becoming much more common in younger people now. Maybe this is due to the fact that people are living in noisier environments today.

The sounds which are heard vary from patient to patient. Some patients hear a musical tone, although most patients hear something which sounds more like a hissing or whistling or a buzzing or a ringing noise. For a lot of patients, it is more of an inconvenience and doesn’t affect their daily lives although for a number of patients, it is so bad that they need some kind of treatment to relieve the symptoms  

The Causes of Tinnitus

Tinnitus is caused by damage to the nerves in the inner ear (cochlea). These nerves transmit electrical impulses to the brain which the brain then interprets as sounds. When these nerves are damaged, the signal becomes distorted. When this distorted signal gets to the brain, the brain interprets it as a noise which is Tinnitus. In elderly people, it is seen as part of growing older and is called presbyacusis. However, in younger people medical professionals believe it is due to be exposed to loud noises.

There are other causes of Tinnitus as well which include Anemia – where the thin blood rushes around the body so quickly that it can cause a sound.  Excessive wax in the ear can also cause tinnitus.

Menieres Disease which is a condition affecting balance can also have a side effect of Tinnitus. Some drugs both legal and illegal can cause Tinnitus as the body reacts to them.  

The Treatment of Tinnitus

For most patients, there is no cure for Tinnitus. Most treatments simply relieve the symptoms by masking the cause of Tinnitus. Tinnitus is sometimes strongly related to the patients level of stress. By managing this level of stress via the use of sedatives, tranquilizers or anti-depressants, the symptoms of tinnitus can be relieved. Some drugs which affect the conduction of electrical impulses in the affected nerves have been found to relieve the symptoms of stress.

There are a number of self help measures which patients can employ either on their own or in tandem with any assistance that a doctor can prescribe. These include listening to soothing music on a personal stereo before the patient goes to sleep. There are white noise generators which can mask the noise inside your head. This means that you can’t hear the noise generated by tinnitus.