Florida Senior 360 | What is that ringing in my ears?

What is that ringing in my ears?

Learn about Tinnitus

Tinnitus is the perception of sounds, such as ringing, buzzing, humming, roaring or whistling, that are not actually present in the external environment. Tinnitus describes a collection of symptoms that may cause individuals to have trouble hearing, working or sleeping. People with tinnitus may have a hard time relaxing or concentrating. Tinnitus can also increase an person's sensitivity to loud sounds.

There are many causes of tinnitus, including hearing loss, exposure to loud noise or medication someone is taking for another problem.

Most people who experience tinnitus find it to be a mild annoyance that may even be a temporary occurance. However, more than two million American adults experience severe, chronic tinnitus.

Tinnitus does not only affect senior adults. Many younger people, musicians and about 30% of veterans returning from war are plagued with tinnitus.

More information is available at the American Tinnitus Association website.

A new type of treatment for tinnitus called tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT), (neuromonics) uses a signal embedded in music to open a wide range of neural pathways to help the auditory cortex retrain and disregard the annoying ringing sound. More information about tinnitus and its treatment can be found on the neuromonics website.