Young People Should Not Ignore Tinnitus

Imagine a fly buzzing in your ear when you are trying to concentrate on reading an article; or a squeaky sound in your ear when you are lying in bed at night trying to sleep quietly.Tinnitus is an abnormal sound that occurs in the ear without any external stimulation.There is no doubt that tinnitus is annoying.

You may think that tinnitus is the preserve of older people, but more and more young people are now starting to develop tinnitus.

A study in the United States showed that about one in ten adults suffers from tinnitus.A survey in Brazil found that more than half (54.7%) of youth aged 11-17 had experienced tinnitus.

Tinnitus is an early sign of hearing damage and needs to be taken seriously.

Cochlear hair cells help you hear sound

If you think of the ear as the ocean, the hair cells in the inner ear (cochlea) are like water plants in the ocean water.

Just as the water plants move with the waves as they pass by, the hair cells repeatedly stretch and contract in response to the sound waves as they pass by, ultimately transmitting the signals from the sound waves to the brain through the nerves that are attached to the back of the cochlea.

Damage to cochlear hair cells can cause tinnitus

The structure of the human cochlea is fragile, and when sound waves are too loud, the cochlear hair cells can be temporarily or permanently damaged, and tinnitus may then occur.The following are some of the causes of tinnitus：

Static (in a signal)

Remember the scene in the movie where the protagonist often has brief periods of tinnitus after a bomb goes off? It’s actually because noise is a major cause of tinnitus.This is why tinnitus is one of the most common symptoms among battlefield veterans.

Noise from a poor lifestyle is a common trigger for tinnitus.Prolonged use of earbuds to listen to music every day with excessive volume in the headphones; frequenting noisy places such as dance clubs and rock concerts can aggravate the risk of tinnitus.

In addition, tinnitus can be induced by loud noise around the living environment. For example, living around an airfield, or noise from a construction site around you can damage the tiny structures in your ears and cause tinnitus.

Mental and psychological factors

Tinnitus is closely related to psychiatric factors, especially depression and anxiety.Studies have shown that tinnitus and depression have some overlapping symptoms such as insomnia, despair, worry, irritability, poor concentration, interpersonal problems and social withdrawal.Young people are more likely to experience tinnitus if they are stressed at work and school, work late, and are agitated and anxious.

Diseases and medications

Ear diseases such as otitis media and otitis externa can cause swelling of the external ear canal, and diseases such as atherosclerosis and hypertension tend to cause changes in blood flow, all of which can lead to tinnitus.Tinnitus can also be induced by some people taking antibiotics such as aspirin and erythromycin.

5 Tips to Combat Tinnitus

Tinnitus tends to cause fatigue, anxiety, depression, and can affect memory and concentration, causing mental and emotional distress.Severe tinnitus can also damage your hearing, while keeping your brain working constantly without rest.

There is currently no medical cure for tinnitus, but there are ways to help you control and relieve it.

Stay away from noise

Especially young people, do not wear headphones for a long time to listen to music.

For example, some high school students who are facing the pressure of college entrance exams like to wear headphones all night long to listen to songs to fall asleep, but then wake up early the next day and suddenly realize that they have severe tinnitus.In this case, the first prescription doctors usually give is to stop wearing headphones to listen to songs.

Prevention of ear canal diseases

Pay attention to the prevention of otitis media, for example, remember to wear earplugs when swimming to prevent water from entering the inner ear.Control high blood pressure and atherosclerosis, and drink less alcohol and coffee to avoid tinnitus brought about by excessive vasodilation.

Divert attention

Using white noise can be a distraction and reduce the emotional disturbance that tinnitus brings to your mind.What is white noise?It can be simply understood as a harmonious, non-harsh sound.Noise is generally a high-frequency sound, so it can sound loud, whereas white noise is more pleasing to the ear because its frequencies are evenly distributed throughout the audible range.If that’s not easy to understand, imagine fans, humidifiers, and air conditioners, for example, which all sound like effective natural white noise.There are also non-artificial sounds such as waves, waterfalls, rain or the sounds of a summer night.

Make yourself happy

Psychological factors can trigger tinnitus, so depression or anxiety can be secondary to tinnitus.Tinnitus is relieved after taking antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications, such as tricyclic antidepressants and alprazolam.According to a survey, one in five tinnitus sufferers in the UK are taking medication to treat their tinnitus.

If you have any of these triggers and suffer more from tinnitus, consider taking medication as directed by your doctor.

Accept tinnitus. Don’t fight it

Psychological therapies such as Positive Thinking can help minimize the distress caused by tinnitus, and are centered on teaching people how to accept tinnitus instead of working against it.Next time you feel a fly buzzing in your ear again, try to understand it.

Once or twice the tinnitus actually do not need to worry too much, but if it is a long-term tinnitus, it may indicate that you are in the pre-hearing damage, do not ignore it.