Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a ringing, hissing, roaring, chirping, clicking, whistling noise which can be heard in your Head or in one or both of your Ears.
The noises may vary in pitch from a low roar to a very high squeal, either there constantly or they will come and go. This can be very disruptive to daily life and can affect your ability to concentrate or even sleep.
Causes of Tinnitus
There are 2 types of Tinnitus:
- Subjective Tinnitus – only you can hear the noises
- Pulsatile Tinnitus – Rhythmic sound often in time with your Heartbeat. This may be heard by your doctor when being examined
However, the exact cause of this condition is still unknown, but we do know there are several things that can trigger or make the symptoms worse.
They include:
- Noise induced hearing loss
- Wax build up
- Certain Medications that are toxic to the Ears
- Sinus or Ear infection
- Temporomandibular Jaw Misalignment. (TMJ)
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Certain types of Tumours
- Neck and Head trauma
- Problems with your Thyroid
- Having Fibromyalgia or Lyme Disease
Diagnosis of Tinnitus
In order to get a diagnosis of Tinnitus you will need to describe to your doctor what type of noises you can hear as this will help them identify what may be causing it:
Clicking
- Indicates Contractions in the Muscles in and around the Ear.
Pulsing, rushing, or humming
- Indicates a Vascular Problem such as High Blood Pressure.
Low pitched ringing
- Indicates either a blockage in the Ear Canal, Meniere’s Disease, or stiffness in the Inner Ear Bone.
High Pitched ringing
- The most common indicates damage from loud noise, Medication, or age-related hearing loss.
The doctor will also examine your Ears and will see when moving your Head, Neck, and Eyes if the Tinnitus changes. Also, you may have the following tests done as well
- Hearing Test.
- CT or MRI Scan.
- Blood tests.
Once the doctor has all this information a diagnosis and cause can be given, although be aware a cause is not always found.
Living with Tinnitus
Unfortunately, there is no cure for Tinnitus however it can be managed by firstly treating the underlying cause if there is one. Your doctor may suggest
- Ear wax removal.
- Treating a Blood Vessel condition
- Wearing a Hearing aid
- Changing Medication that may be causing a problem.
If none of the above help you then there are a few things, you can try that may make things more manageable:
- Totally avoid Silence as this makes Tinnitus sound louder
- Try listen to White Noise which may help make Tinnitus less noticeable especially at Night
- Wear a device called a Masker which makes a “shhh” sound to cover the Tinnitus
- Try Retraining Therapy to retrain your Brain to ignore the noises
- Give Cognitive Behaviour Therapy a go
Conclusion
So, what is the link between Fibromyalgia and Tinnitus? A recent study will hopefully answer this question for you:
Tinnitus, a condition that causes a person’s ears to constantly ring, and chronic pain may share an unexpected link, according to researchers at Georgetown University. This theory comes after scientists found tinnitus and chronic pain experience similar changes in the two regions of the brain. These regions may act as “gatekeepers” for sensory stimuli, according to the report, which is why ringing of the ears and chronic pain may be linked.
Lead author of the review, Professor Josef Rau checker, stated several systems in the brain help filter out signals and stimuli that may be dangerous, and over time, the brain recognizes noise isn’t a threat to a person’s health. However, for those with ringing in the ears, the brain ignores these signals completely and lets the brain accept noises among other things. This failure to sort out stimuli occurs in those suffering from chronic pain as well.
To evaluate this theory further, researchers analysed a number of imaging studies of the brain. What they found was, patients with chronic pain or tinnitus had a smaller ventromedial prefrontal cortex than those who did not. Additionally, studies determined those with either condition had less grey matter in that region than others. Other similarities included activity levels in certain areas of the brain and control of information flow. www.southwestspineandpain.com/
As you can see it all links back to the abnormality of the Brain in a Fibro Person and there is still on-going Research to investigate whether Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Deep Brain Stimulation can help both Fibromyalgia and Tinnitus.
There is much that the Scientific World has to learn about Fibromyalgia, and it’s connected conditions. In the meantime, all we can do is learn to manage and deal with these conditions the best we can.
The Link to our Research
https://lsom.uthscsa.edu/otolaryngology/tinnitus/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tinnitus/symptoms-causes/syc-20350156
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10067-013-2287-2
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32881903
The link to our Sources.
The reason for using these Resources.
Here you will learn what Tinnitus is and how it is linked to Fibromyalgia.
You will learn how you get a diagnosis and deal with Tinnitus in your daily life.