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.

Is This Tinnitus?

Almost one in six Americans suffers from tinnitus, a persistent perception of sound that is not really present in their environment. That is 50 million people. This sound is frequently described as “ringing in their ears” but many people also describe it as whistling, buzzing, roaring, hissing, whooshing or chirping. There are innumerable factors that might cause the onset of tinnitus, but most all of them are the result of some kind of injury to the auditory system.

Most often doctors will diagnose tinnitus purely on the person’s experience of the symptoms alone. But to determine the proper treatment the doctor will first need to identify if the tinnitus is the result of an underlying condition. Often this is not something that the doctor can find, but she will inquire about your medical history and give you an examination. These tests may likely include an audiological test, a sequence of movements, CT or MRI scans, and drawing blood. The results of these tests will help the doctor narrow down the possible causes for the condition and thus modify the approach to treatment. For example, if someone hears a constant clicking, the tinnitus is likely caused by the muscles in your neck and near your ears. High blood pressure may cause the sounds of pulsing, humming, or rushing,

The Obvious Benefits of Treatment

The development of a cure for tinnitus is making great advances every day, but there is currently no cure for most cases of tinnitus. The underlying condition may be repairable, but there is no other way to cut the signal of the perceived sound to the brain. Treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms.

And there are many excellent tools that make a tremendous impact on reducing the constant suffering. Done in the combination the doctor determines appropriate for you, these treatments improve the psychological, emotional, and mental stresses of tinnitus by diminishing the perception of the sound. Like taking an aspirin for a headache, the treatments will reduce the feelings of stress, anxiety that the condition often causes. They also improve difficulties hearing, sparing you that risk of social isolation and the depression and cognitive difficulties that hearing trouble so often leads to.

Your Treatment Options

No two cases of tinnitus are the same, just as no two people are the same. Our specialists will analyze your unique factors to determine the most effective combination of treatment strategies for you. First off, if an underlying condition can be identified, treating that will likely immediately reduce the symptoms. This might mean earwax removal or a change in medication. More seriously, if a blood vessel condition is found to be the root of one’s tinnitus, treating it may require surgeries, but in this case the tinnitus was a revelatory clue to a potentially more serious condition.

Hearing aids will improve the symptoms for those whose tinnitus is caused by age-related or noise induced hearing loss. Other simple mechanical solutions include white noise machines or masking devices. White noise machines, like loud vents or fans, create a static hum in the environment that helps mask the troubling sounds. Masking devices are worn like hearing aids and output a low white noise that counteracts the irritating frequencies.

Beyond these options, behavioral treatments are also helpful. These treatments help you come to peace with your condition and reconsider how it impacts your life. This may include counseling or therapy to give you skills to cope with the condition.

Researchers are confident that they are closing in on a neurological “cure” for tinnitus, that will involve stimulating the brain with magnetic or electrical signals to relieve the symptoms. But until that time comes, there is no excuse to suffer tinnitus without the proper treatments. Check out The American Tinnitus Association (ATA), the country’s largest non-profit resource to learn more and to connect with others to see what worked for them. and make an appointment today with one of our specialists to come in and determine what options would work best for you. You can have your life back, your feelings of easy connection with yourself and your loved ones will rush back in. Your world will deepen and expand to new dimensions when you decide enough his enough and choose to unburden yourself.