Tinnitus What Is It?
Ancient civilisations used to make holes in the head to get rid of the sound of evil spirits. Not much progress had been made by the sixteenth century, when a distracted woman wrote in her diary: 'My God, it is the Devil's noises.' And recently the London mother of a ten-year-old boy told their doctor: 'It is like a swarm of bees in his head, and he cries a lot.' Hundreds of millions of people throughout the world know what tinnitus is like, but still remain ignorant about precisely what it is.
It can be defined quite easily: sound inside the head not caused by anything outside it – the Latin word tinnitus literally means 'a ringing'. Quite unrelated to any external stimulus, it is confined to the head and cannot be heard by anyone else. To describe the sounds takes a little longer: they may resemble almost anything from a hissing to the roar of a jet engine. The commonest include metallic banging, whistling, drum beats, water running, electric drills, clock chimes and telephone bells.
A single sound may be isolated or be joined intermittently or constantly by any of the others. The racket can be experienced in one or both ears or somewhere in the centre of the head. At its worst it can threaten mental health or lead a sufferer to suicide. Its prevalence and intensity make it one of the scourges of human life. It is also one of the most baffling.
Doctors are keen to point out that it is not a disease or malfunction of the body, but a symptom of something else. It is a medical condition. Once that is stated, further explanation becomes wafer thin. Attempts to add to the basic knowledge of the subject become lost in the labyrinths and byways of medical speculation and conjecture.
If it is a symptom, of what is it a symptom? When anything is said to be symptomatic of something else, surely the 'something else' cannot be a mystery? The symptom and the cause are related and one cannot exist without the other. This line of enquiry can bring about a shuffling of feet and a glazed expression even among those who have studied the subject professionally.
Four thousand years ago the Egyptians had something to say about rackety heads, but current theories on what causes them still have to be proved. The status of 'symptom' must remain, but without compelling scientific knowledge of the causes.
Cures And Treatment Of Tinnitus?
So what? A person plagued by tinnitus may reply. Isn't it possible to cure it, symptom or not, without first proving what started it, just as an aspirin helps a headache?
At present tinnitus can be relieved, and even seemingly abolished as a result of protracted treatment. Expectations that a single cure will be found are becoming increasingly unrealistic. Scientists now think there are several causes and if this is the case, several cures will be needed. The good news is that some forms of relief can be applied to various forms of tinnitus whatever their causes are. Treatment is therefore racing ahead of a cure or cures.
Because of its subjective and personal nature, tinnitus is a challenge to good health which itself can be challenged by sufferers. With determination and a positive outlook, it is possible to intervene successfully in the course of events when tinnitus strikes and discover ways of getting the better of what at first can seem like a noisy monster invading the head. Some simple therapies under the direction of skilled people and, just as valuably, a few basic pieces of advice can lighten the burden.
The new sufferer will be regaled with scores of highly dubious 'remedies' deserving of the title quack medicine. Practitioners of some of the more boastful branches of alternative medicine, who claim with scant evidence that they have the key to healthier living, have latterly added tinnitus to their lists. At the same time, there are treatments – on the fringe of conventional medicine – with credible testimonials from people with tinnitus.
Certainly it is not easy to make much progress in the partial defeat of tinnitus without accepting the psychological element in it. As it is a perceived noise, which others cannot hear, the processes of thought and sensations are heavily involved. It is therefore wrong to think of tinnitus as an ear-based affliction only, although the temptation to do so is great, as sounds and the hearing of them are fundamental to the car.
Simple Facts About Tinnitus
The outer ear, which is the part most of us see, and essentially collects the sounds being received, can be eliminated from investigations into the cause of tinnitus.
The middle ear is a fairly simple section, carrying sounds to the drum. Modern surgery can clear blockages and repair damage there.
The inner ear, with the cochlea, reveals a vastly complicated world, however, with nerve connections to the part of the brain dealing with hearing. Damage through injury or ageing can play havoc with these microcomplex auditory pathways and is strongly suspected of being a cause of tinnitus.
It is even thought that when certain signals fail to travel correctly or at all, the brain interprets their absence as a signal in itself and perversely creates sounds from what should be silence. If physical malfunctions of the inner ear are suspected of causing tinnitus, they cannot be treated.
Indeed, the medical world cannot offer much, compared with the triumphs of drugs and surgery in relieving or curing other conditions. This is usually a dismal discovery for the new sufferer, who may think that the wonders of science are bound to have some solution. Nor is there much to cheer him or her up when he learns of what is being done to relieve tinnitus and to find a cure.
One in ten adults, and many children, suffer from it, but the combined resources of GPs' surgeries, hospitals and research establishments have, by truly scandalous neglect, pushed tinnitus way down the list of priorities.
Now, gradually, tinnitus is edging its way towards more sympathetic understanding in medicine and, slowly, among the policy-makers and politicians whose decisions can direct resources to the subject. Changes in priorities amid competing claims for other disabilities and afflictions will take time, however. Sufferers should not just wait for better treatment and a commitment to greater scientific research. The best advice is to act in the interim on their own behalf.
Results Of Tinnitus
Tinnitus has many common consequences, some of which are likely to be suffered by anyone with all but the slightest sounds in the head. These can include insomnia and depression, both of which need a doctor's advice. It is a terrible mistake to conclude that because these conditions are caused by incurable tinnitus, they are also somehow beyond treatment. Nor should a reluctance to take drugs stand in the way. Similarly, the stress and anxiety which can follow from head sounds do not have to be tolerated. Once banished the tinnitus will appear to be reduced.
Worst of all, perhaps, is the overwhelming feeling of social isolation which new and chronic sufferers may encounter. The sounds can build a barrier between the person hearing them and the rest of society, especially if there is also serious deafness. This leads to introspection which strengthens the disinclination to reach out to non-sufferers.
As the real cause is hidden, others do not understand. There are many paths to establishing a comfortable link with the rest of the world, and it would be naive to point to one for everyone to follow.
Many sufferers show inspiringly what can be achieved if, as Hamlet mused, they 'take arms against their sea of troubles'.
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