Hearing loss is a risk factor for tinnitus

Hearing loss is a risk factor for tinnitus?

The prevalence of tinnitus has been estimated as 15% of the world population. Hearing loss is a risk factor for tinnitus, and the prevalence increases to 33% in individuals aged over 60 years.

Emotional factors are likely to affect the transmission and processing of sounds from the ear to the brainstem, as the auditory system has many connections with the limbic system (centre in the cortex controlling our mood, behavior, memory and sensory perception).

Tinnitus will become louder or softer by activity in the limbic system depending on how much attention or focus the sound is given. Psychological factors such as stress, anger, lack of control, and anxiety will lead to an alteration in the processing pattern and a decreased sound tolerance level, which will in turn exacerbate the problem.

There is a continuous vicious cycle of distress in the person suffering from tinnitus, which can influence a person’s ability to relax, socialize with friends, and continue with daily life activities including maintaining their profession and health.

Tinnitus is very much an individual condition; each person will describe different sounds heard and perceive it in a dissimilar manner. Not all patients will choose to seek advice from hearing care clinic professionals despite its obvious impact on psychological health. This may be due to the common notion that if a specific cause of tinnitus is not found, effective treatment is unavailable; the patient will therefore, have to live with their symptoms. However, research has shown that tinnitus does gradually get better, and tolerance of tinnitus increases with time with the help of a tinnitus management program.

Tinnitus and hearing loss

Hearing loss is the common reason for tinnitus; people will often neglect their disability and continue with everyday life. Hearing impairment, like tinnitus, can also cause psychological and social difficulties because it interferes with a person’s ability to communicate effectively.

Communication plays a significant aspect in maintaining relationships and quality of life. People with a hearing loss perceive themselves as poor conversationalists.

This often results in depression, loneliness, annoyance, anger, and social isolation. These social and emotional changes lead to long term lifestyle changes and diminished quality of life.

They can no longer do things they enjoy; they feel vulnerable, insecure, a decreased selfesteem, and do not successfully adjust to their new circumstances. Therefore, the individual with both untreated tinnitus and untreated hearing loss would be expected to experience a greater impact on their health and psychological well-being compared to individuals with only tinnitus or only hearing loss.

Tinnitus evaluation

At present, there is no medication available to cure tinnitus, although a lot of research is currently in process. The treatment plan is tailored to meet the individual’s requirements with the aim of aiding habituation of tinnitus rather than eliminating noises completely.

If you are experiencing troublesome tinnitus and would like an evaluation, the first step is to visit your ear clinic. The GP will examine your ears to make sure the eardrum looks healthy. If the ear canals show excessive wax, or an ear infection, you will receive eardrops/antibiotics to treat this.

A referral to the ENT specialist will be facilitated to carry out a hearing test, tympanometry, CT scan, and x-rays to ensure there are no underlying pathologies.