Julie Raney is a certified and licensed audiologist. She has a B.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a Master’s Degree in Audiology from Idaho State University. She has worked as a clinical audiologist in Colorado since 2005. She specializes in hearing amplification for adults and delivers her services in both English and Sign Language.

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Do you find that the last time you were in a quiet environment, that you were confronted by a phantom ringing in your ears? This is the sound of tinnitus, a condition which affects around 15 percent of adults in the United States. This equals around 50 million people affected to different degrees. While the ringing in most instances comes and goes, in 20 million people reports of tinnitus are considered burdensome and distracting. Meanwhile, around 2 million people in the US report tinnitus symptoms so severe that they feel debellated.

The Stress of Tinnitus

Many people wonder what could be so devastating about a ringing of the ears. However, for those who feel assaulted by the buzz, hum, whoosh, or even phantom music of tinnitus, it can feel unescapable. This feeling of being trapped by the sensation can increase cortisol levels in your body, to a dangerous degree. Cortisol is a chemical hormone in the body released when the body is exposed to stressful situations and informs the body’s fight or flight response. In emergencies cortisol is incredibly helpful in fleeing or fighting in dangerous situations, however, when something like chronic tinnitus constantly is releasing cortisol, it can interrupt our ability to get restful sleep and raise blood pressure indefinitely, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Relationship to Hearing Loss

The Hearing Loss Association of America reports that of the roughly 50 million people in the United states who suffer from tinnitus, 90 percent also report experiencing tinnitus. This leads us to explore the connection between the two conditions, both revolving around the health of the ear. While we collect sound with our ears, the sound must reach our brain for the process to be functional. The most common type of hearing loss is sensorineural, which is caused when tiny hair-like cells called stereocilia are damaged. Stereocilia are responsible for converting audio waves into electrical impulses which are delivered and interpreted in the auditory cortex of the brain.

If you’ve ever left a loud nightclub, sporting event or fireworks display with ringing in your ears, it signals that you were exposed to loud noise. While no one completely understands what causes tinnitus, the most popular theory revolves around damage to the stereocilia. When the stereocilia are damaged they send an unintentional signal to the brain which is interpreted by the brain as the ringing symptoms of tinnitus.

Reducing the Effects of Tinnitus

For millions of people in the United States, tinnitus is a very real and devastating condition. However, so much of how it affects us is contingent on how we perceive and react to it. For instance, when you are settling into bed and are suddenly confronted with the feedback sounds of tinnitus, it can cause many of us to feel stressed. This in turn can interrupt sleep and contribute to exhaustion and trouble concentrating during the day.

Many forms of treatment for tinnitus revolve around modifying your reaction to tinnitus. For instance, a popular talk therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) revolves around talking about ways you can de escalate your stress response to tinnitus. Others find stress reducing activities such as meditation, yoga, exercise, and acupuncture can reduce stress and the stress response to tinnitus.

Addressing Hearing Loss to Reduce Tinnitus

Due to the high instances of hearing loss for those who report tinnitus, it’s likely that addressing one can help the other. While there is no cure for hearing loss it can be treated with hearing aids. Hearing aids amplify the sounds around you that you would otherwise struggle with, making it easier for you to follow conversations and be more alert of your surroundings. It can be incredibly stressful to struggle with hearing day to day, so it is reasonable to believe that reducing stress by treating hearing loss may also help reduce the stress response to tinnitus. In addition, many hearing aids on the market also come available with tinnitus masking features. This can cover the distracting buzz of tinnitus. To find out if hearing aids are right for you, contact us today to schedule your next hearing exam today.