Question:
I listen to a lot of music and it's causing this really loud
whistling in my ear. I'm pretty sure it's tinnitus. I'm really young - if I
stop listening to music for a while, at least in headphones, will it ease off,
will my ears heal themselves? If
not, is there anything I can do, at least to ease it?
Tinnitus
is the term for noises heard ‘in the ear or ears’ or ‘in the head’ when no
obvious source of sound is apparent. The noises are usually described as
ringing, whistling, hissing, buzzing or humming. Tinnitus is not a disease or
an illness, it is a non-specific symptom, that can be brought on by a mental or
physical ‘change’, not necessarily related to hearing. In a mild form, tinnitus
is extremely common. Almost everyone gets the occasional ringing in the ears,
either without any clear trigger or after exposure to loud sounds, be it at
work or socially. About 10% of us experience tinnitus frequently and
approximately 5% of the adult population in the UK experience persistent or
troublesome tinnitus.
Occasionally people have tinnitus that takes the form of recognisable musical
sounds or even complete tunes rather than the more common ringing, hissing,
buzzing, etc, sounds. This is referred to as musical imagery tinnitus or
auditory imagery tinnitus. It usually occurs in older people who also have a
hearing loss and quite often these people have a strong musical interest. The
exact mechanism by which this form of tinnitus occurs is unknown but probably
involves the auditory memory parts of the brain. Unfortunately, this form of
tinnitus is sometimes initially mistaken for mental illness. However, once it
has been recognised as tinnitus rather than a psychiatric condition it can be
treated in the same way as other forms of tinnitus. Helping hearing loss with
appropriate hearing aids is particularly important with musical imagery
tinnitus.
I heard from a friend who has found great
relief from Tinnitus. He told about this holistic Tinnitus
program which I thought might help you. They offer 24 hour personal counseling and
support to guide their clients through the program until they reach their goals
(get rid of tinnitus naturally).
