Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences (SBF) Audiology Department Research Assistant Mina Gök evaluated tinnitus.
Tinnitus, which is defined as the feeling of being heard and being heard despite the absence of that sound in the environment, can affect a person's quality of life. Stating that tinnitus, which can be seen in individuals of all ages from childhood, is quite common in the society, experts state that it affects approximately 10-15 percent of the adult population. Experts recommend protecting the ears from loud noise and noise to prevent ringing.
Üsküdar University Faculty of Health Sciences (SBF) Audiology Department Research Assistant Mina Gök evaluated tinnitus.
It sounds like it's there even though it's not
Mina Gök, who defines tinnitus, which is called “Tiinitus” in the medical language, as “the feeling of being heard and heard even though there is no 'that' sound in the environment”, said, “The sound heard is caused by patients; A treble or bass tone can be defined in different ways such as hum, ringing, hissing, whistling, cricket sound. It can occur unilaterally or in both ears, intermittently or continuously. he said.
tinnitus; disease, not disease
Noting that although tinnitus does not cause hearing loss on its own, it is accepted as a symptom, not a disease. "Tinnitus, which can be seen in individuals of all ages starting from childhood, is quite common in the society and affects approximately 10-15 percent of the adult population." he said.
The lens tinnitus can also be heard by the specialist.
Stating that it is possible to examine tinnitus in two groups, objective and subjective tinnitus, in order to evaluate tinnitus in more detail, Research Assistant Mina Gök said:
“Objective demonstrable tinnitus is felt as a result of the sound of blood flow or muscle movement in the body reaching the ear, and the sound heard by the patient can be heard when the assessing specialist approaches the patient with a stethoscope. Objective tinnitus can be triggered by certain maneuvers in the head, neck, jaw or limbs, mostly caused by veins and muscles.
Only that person can hear the subjective ringing.
Subjective tinnitus are sounds that are not caused by a physical phenomenon and can only be heard by the individual with tinnitus. It is a condition that consists of abnormal stimulation in the nervous system without sound stimulation in the sensory cells of the inner ear, that is, in the absence of sound. It occurs in the auditory nerve or in the pathways to the brain.”
Research Assistant Mina Gök said that subjective tinnitus can occur with metabolic or neurological diseases, side effects of some drugs and psychological factors for reasons including the problems of the outer ear canal, eardrum, middle ear, inner ear, auditory nerve and the structures after.
Stating that the incidence of subjective tinnitus is much higher than that of objective tinnitus, Research Assistant Mina Gök said, "While less than 1 percent of people with tinnitus have objective tinnitus, more than 99 percent of them have subjective tinnitus." said.
Can affect quality of life
Emphasizing that tinnitus affects the quality of life at different levels because it occurs differently in each individual, Mina Gök said, “While it is a minor distress in some patients, it can disrupt sleep patterns in some patients and cause emotional and psychological symptoms such as depression due to anxiety. Severe tinnitus may be accompanied by hyperacusis or perception problems, which is defined as intolerance especially to sounds. warned.
Hearing loss can be seen in tinnitus
"Individuals with tinnitus generally have hearing loss, but this should not be interpreted as hearing loss if there is tinnitus," said Mina Gök. Although the prevalence and severity of tinnitus increase with the degree of hearing loss, it is known that severe tinnitus complaints of individuals continue even if the hearing is completely destroyed. he said.
Exposure to loud noises and trauma can cause tinnitus.
Stating that tinnitus can also be seen in hearing loss due to old age, Mina Gök said, “Hearing nerve injuries caused by head trauma usually result in tinnitus. The presence of tumor in the auditory nerve is also almost always seen together with tinnitus. Although it is the subject of many studies, the mechanism of formation of tinnitus is not fully understood. However, in general, exposure to loud noise, hearing loss affecting the inner ear, acoustic trauma such as a blow to the ear or explosion noise, and side effects of some medications are associated with tinnitus. he said.
Hyperacusis and depression may accompany
Noting that tinnitus can affect an individual's whole life and impair their quality of life, Mina Gök said, "Severe tinnitus can be accompanied by emotional disorders such as hyperacusis and depression, which are defined as hypersensitivity to normal volume sounds. There is no definitive treatment option for patients with bothersome tinnitus, but current treatment strategies are aimed at reducing the severity of tinnitus and improving quality of life.” said.
There are many options for treatment
Stating that audiologists use frequency (treble-bass) and intensity equalization methods based on patient responses in silent test cabinets to determine the character of tinnitus, Research Assistant Mina Gök said, “There are many options for treatment. Hearing aids are one of the available options. Amplifying the environmental sounds provided by the hearing aids will suppress the existing resonance and reduce the discomfort caused by the tinnitus. Again, masking options within hearing aids will reduce hearing resonance with ocean or nature sounds.” said.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapies can also be used.
Noting that antidepressants are one of the most preferred methods to alleviate the psychological burden of the condition, Mina Gök said, “In addition, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is one of the psychological therapy methods used to reduce the psychological difficulties caused by tinnitus. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is another proven method used in clinics around the world for the treatment of tinnitus. One of the preferred treatment options is Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT), applied by audiologists. TRT is a method consisting of counseling and sound therapy that aims to create changes in the mechanisms responsible for signal transfer from the ear to the brain and thus alleviate the reactions caused by direct tinnitus. he said.
- Pay attention to these recommendations to prevent tinnitus!
- Gök listed his recommendations to prevent tinnitus as follows:
- To protect our ears from loud noise / noise,
- Cleaning of our headphones and/or hearing aids to reduce the risk of infection,
- We should take care to keep our mood stable, especially in terms of stress/anxiety.
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