How Common Is Tinnitus In Older Adults

Teens Loud Music And Possible Future Hearing Problems

One study found that out of 170 teenagers, over half had experienced tinnitus in the previous year. Research has proposed that potentially risky leisure habits, such as listening to loud music on personal devices, could trigger tinnitus.

However, the investigators found that those who were prone to tinnitus tended to keep their music volume down, suggesting they may already have a hidden susceptibility to hearing loss in the future.

They propose monitoring for tinnitus and a low tolerance for loud noise from an early age, as these could be early signs of future hearing loss.

Tinnitus is a common problem in the general population, especially among those with certain risk factors.

These include:

Robert J Baatenburg De Jong

1Department of OtorhinolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

2Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

4Department of Neurology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Hearing Loss Is A Common Problem For Older Adults

Hearing loss can happen at any age, however it is most prevalent as we age.

As the body ages, wrinkles become more visible, hair color changes, body ache begin to develop, ability to control weight becomes more difficult, physical activities becomes more labored and health tends to decline, So Does Hearing.

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How To Talk With Someone With Hearing Loss

Here are some tips you can use when talking with someone who has a hearing problem:

• Find a quiet place to talk to help reduce background noise, especially in restaurants and at social gatherings

• Stand in good lighting and use facial expressions or gestures to give clues

• Face the person and speak clearly. Maintain eye contact

• Speak a little more loudly than normal, but dont shout

• Speak at a reasonable speed

• Do not hide your mouth, eat, or chew gum while speaking

• Repeat yourself if necessary, using different words

• Try to make sure only one person talks at a time

• Be patient. Stay positive and relaxed

• Ask how you can help

Risk Factors For Tinnitus

Age

Tinnitus can develop at any age, but it is more common in older adults . Patients may experience symptoms like age-related hearing loss . Old age can cause a decline in the number of operational nerve fibers in the ears . It is also more common in men than women .

Younger patients may develop tinnitus from exposure to loud noise using headphones or attending music venues. Doctors advise that young people monitor signs of tinnitus and avoid excessively loud music to avoid future hearing damage.

Anxiety and Depression

Symptoms of anxiety or depression may trigger tinnitus. Brain imaging research shows that individuals who hear ringing in their ears have a remarkable depletion in tissue size in the medial prefrontal cortex, compared to those without tinnitus. This area is responsible for modulating sensory information . When tissue loses its volume, it reduces the neurons ability to suppress unwanted signals, which causes ear ringing. Anxiety, stress and depression originate from malfunctions in the same point of the brain. Cases of depression and anxiety in individuals with tinnitus are more than double the national average .

Pregnancy

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Common Causes Of Tinnitus

In many people, tinnitus is caused by one of the following:

• Hearing loss. There are tiny, delicate hair cells in your inner ear that move when your ear receives sound waves. This movement triggers electrical signals along the nerve from your ear to your brain . Your brain interprets these signals as sound.

  If the hairs inside your inner ear are bent or broken this happens as you age or when you are regularly exposed to loud sounds they can “leak” random electrical impulses to your brain, causing tinnitus.

• Ear infection or ear canal blockage. Your ear canals can become blocked with a buildup of fluid , earwax, dirt or other foreign materials. A blockage can change the pressure in your ear, causing tinnitus.
• Head or neck injuries. Head or neck trauma can affect the inner ear, hearing nerves or brain function linked to hearing. Such injuries usually cause tinnitus in only one ear.

• Medications. A number of medications may cause or worsen tinnitus. Generally, the higher the dose of these medications, the worse tinnitus becomes. Often the unwanted noise disappears when you stop using these drugs.

  Medications known to cause tinnitus include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and certain antibiotics, cancer drugs, water pills , antimalarial drugs and antidepressants.

What Causes Sudden Vertigo Or Dizziness In Adults

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It concerns upper cervical chiropractors in Plymouth MN how many people have vertigo, yet only a few know how to identify it distinctly.

Before anything else, lets define what vertigo is. Vertigo is the false sense of motion. It can be a feeling similar to when you spin in circles and suddenly stops, and you experience your environment as if spinning.

People often mistake vertigo as dizziness. However, dizziness is only momentary lightheadedness or loss of balance.

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How Common Is Tinnitus In Older Adults

Tinnitus is an illness that is a problem for the ears that can lead to hearing loss. How Common Is Tinnitus In Older Adults

There are many treatments for tinnitus, including prescription medications, surgery or acupuncture.

It is essential to speak with your physician about the options you have for treating tinnitus. Options for treatment include

Laterality And Severity Seem To Correlate

People who suffer from both tinnitus and headaches report a lower quality of life as well as more associated symptoms, such as temporomandibular joint complaints, compared to people with tinnitus who do not also suffer from headaches.

For people with tinnitus and also migraine, there are some correlations between symptoms. One study that looked at these correlations found the following results:

• 27% of participants with tinnitus self-reported that they also suffer from headaches, which is not significantly different from the prevalence of headache in the general population
• Women more often suffer from a unilateral headache than men
• Participants with all forms of headache more commonly reported TMJ complaints and vertigo
• Participants with tinnitus and migraine scored higher on some quality of life and depression inventory rating scales than people with tinnitus who do not suffer from headaches
• Headache type did not affect sensitivity to loud sound, but participants with migraines were more likely to report pain in response to loud sound
• There was no effect on mask-ability of tinnitus for participants with migraine

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Signs And Symptoms Of Comorbidity Of Hypertension And Tinnitus

Elevation of blood pressure level and regular population of phantom noise in the ear/head. This sound may be constant or intermittent in nature.

Exposure To Loud Noise

Loud noise is one of the major causes of tinnitus. It can also cause damage to a patients overall hearing ability. Sometimes tinnitus disappears after a few minutes or hours, but sometimes it can persist for weeks or months. Close range exposure to intense sound can even cause permanent hearing damage. Continuous exposure may also pose a greater risk to hearing ability .

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Why Does Tinnitus Occur With Age

There are many causes of tinnitus, and the exact nature of the condition isnt yet fully understood. However, its believed the sound deprivation can cause or exacerbate the symptoms of the condition. If you are unable to hear external noises, for example, you experience sound deprivation. In the absence of external sound, your brain may try and compensate by producing its own sounds, leading to the hissing, buzzing or whooshing sounds you experience.

As hearing loss prevents you from hearing external sounds, it can be the trigger that causes sound deprivation and, therefore, the symptoms of tinnitus. Technically, this could occur at any age, but the prevalence of age-related hearing loss means its more common in older people.

Hearing Problems In Seniors: Symptoms And Causes Of Tinnitus

• Age. The type of hearing loss that goes along with age is usually accompanied by tinnitus.
• Noise. In younger adults with tinnitus the cause can often be traced to noise exposure.
• Medications. Aspirin is a common cause of ringing in your ears, but tinnitus can also be caused by some antibiotics. In fact, there are hundreds of medications that may cause tinnitus.
• Health issues. Many medical problems including allergies, blood pressure, neck injuries, and tumors can be associated with tinnitus.
• Unknown. Almost half of all tinnitus has no known cause.

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Effects Of Comorbidity Of Hypertension And Tinnitus On Elderly

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension promotes the scourge of tinnitus, especially pulse-synchronous tinnitus among the elderly.

Hearing Problems In Seniors: Treatments For Tinnitus

• Talk therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of counseling that teaches you how to cope with tinnitus in new ways and replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Counseling may also involve learning about relaxation and stress reduction.
• Sound therapy. This type of treatment involves using pleasant sounds like a waterfall or a gurgling brook as background noise to mask the sound of your tinnitus. Sound therapy can be as simple as a radio at your bedside.
• Tinnitus retraining therapy. This is a type of therapy that combines counseling and sound therapy. It can take up to 18 months and requires working with a trained hearing professional.
• Hearing aid. If you have tinnitus along with significant hearing loss, a hearing aid may help by increasing your ability to hear the sounds around you, which will mask the sound of the tinnitus.

• Always start with a good medical evaluation. Your doctor may refer you to an audiologist or an ear, nose and throat specialist.
• Avoid any loud noise exposure.
• Reduce stress by getting enough sleep and exercising regularly.
• Avoid stimulants that may aggravate tinnitus like caffeine and nicotine.

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Can I Prevent Hearing Loss Associated With Old Age

While you cant do anything about your relatives , you can take steps to prevent some lifestyle factors linked to hearing loss.

• If youre diabetic, have heart disease or other circulatory problems, follow your doctors guidelines for diet and exercise. The hair cells in the inner ear depend on good blood flow to keep them healthy. Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly can facilitate hearing health.
• Ask your doctor about the medications youre taking. Are they linked to hearing loss? If so, ask if she can prescribe an alternative medication. If you take large amounts of aspirin or other pain relievers, cut back or try to find alternative methods of pain relief.
• Be aware of loud noises in your environment. According to the NIDCD, noise-induced hearing loss is the only type of hearing loss that is completely preventable. Sounds measuring more than 85 decibels for long or repeated periods of time can permanently damage your hearing. Hearing health experts recommend wearing ear plugs or other hearing protection when youre working or playing around noisy equipment or recreational vehicles. If you cant reduce the noise or protect your ears, move away from it.

You Can Prevent Most Noise

When listening to the radio, TV, or using ear phones, turning down the sound will greatly reduced noise-related hearing loss.

When working around loud sounds such a machinery, using earplugs or ear protection will quite the sound.

When attending concerts, sports events or any place that may have overly loud sounds, wear ear plugs, or head phones to reduce the loud sounds.

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> > > Best Tinnitus Treatment Available

Hearing loss or tinnitus can be a symptom of an ear or sinus problem. Sometimes, the problem goes away by itself, other times it requires medical intervention. Tinnitus is often times a sign of an ear or sinus infection, which means you need to see your doctor as soon as you can. A bacterial infection in the ear can go away by itself, but if it doesnt and keeps coming back, it can cause hearing loss, which is why you need to get your doctors advice right away.

Many people who suffer from a mental health issue, may also experience hearing loss. When a person has serious depression, he is at risk to low self-esteem. Low self-esteem and anxiety can lead to more social problems and depression, which can lead to more hearing loss. If a person continues to have ongoing issues with depression and anxiety, his hearing will continue to deteriorate.

Standard Protocol Approvals Registrations And Participant Consents

The Rotterdam Study was approved by the medical ethics committee of the Erasmus MC and by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport . The Rotterdam Study was entered into the Netherlands National Trial Register and the World Health Organizations International Clinical Trials Registry Platform under a shared catalog number . All participants provided written informed consent to participate in the study and to have their information obtained from treating physicians.

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Are There Specialist Tinnitus Clinics

Some ear departments have specialist tinnitus clinics. These offer such things as counselling, advice on sound therapy, relaxation techniques and other advice on ways to cope with living with tinnitus.

Tinnitus retraining therapy has been used in the past, but recent research suggests it is not very helpful. It has largely been replaced by CBT.

Tinnitus Prevalence And Demographic Characteristics

We found that 21.4% of 6098 participants reported tinnitus . The prevalence of tinnitus did not vary significantly among the age groups: it ranged between 23.2% in the 65- to 69-year-old group and 19.9% in the 80- to 84-year-old group . Participants with prevalent tinnitus were more often male than participants without tinnitus . A similar difference in the proportion of males was found in the age groups spanning 60 to 74 years, not in the other age groups. There was no difference in highest achieved education between the participants with and without tinnitus, neither in the entire population nor by age group.

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Tinnitus And Constant Headache

A headache is considered to be chronic if it occurs more than 15 days per month and lasts for at least three months. When tinnitus also occurs, it could be a sign of a migraine.

Persistent headaches accompanied by tinnitus can seriously disrupt daily living and have a significant impact on quality of life. Most people find relief knowing that there are ways to treat headaches, migraines, and tinnitus.

What Does Tinnitus Sound Like

Most people describe tinnitus as a ringing sensation in the ears which happens when there is no external sound triggering the ringing.

While ear ringing is the most common description, the experience varies from one patient to the next.

These noises can be dull and quiet. Or, the sounds can seem so loud that the symptoms interfere with your daily activities. It can be hard to concentrate while experiencing severe tinnitus symptoms.

Its rare, but some patients describe tinnitus as a whooshing sound or rhythmic pulsing. You might notice that the sounds and sensations match your heartbeat. This sensation is known as pulsatile tinnitus.

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How Is Tinnitus Treated

Tinnitus is a diagnosis not a disease. Treatment depends on what is causing it. In some cases, tinnitus is easily treated if the cause is found, such as removing ear wax or changing medicines. For most people, there is no underlying cause. You may be referred to an audiologist or an ear, nose and throat specialist for further tests and treatments. If you have tinnitus and deafness on one side, you will be referred to a specialist so an MRI can be done.

Treatment of tinnitus may include lifestyle changes, medicines, hearing-based treatments and other treatments. In some cases you may get used to the sound and your brain switches off the sounds. This may take several months. Reassurance that this can happen may be all the treatment you need.

Is There A Cure For Presbycusis

Not hearing as well as you once did? Itcould be age-related hearing loss.

Like most types of sensorineural hearing loss, there is no cure. Fortunately, though, most cases of sensorineural hearing loss can be treated.

• Hearing aids. Those with mild-to-moderate hearing loss may benefit from wearing hearing aids. After a thorough hearing evaluation, a hearing healthcare professional will recommend the type and style of hearing aid according to the severity of your hearing loss, lifestyle preferences and budget.
• Cochlear implants, which can be given to older adults. If you are diagnosed with severe or profound hearing loss, you may benefit from using a cochlear implant. These medical devices are surgically implanted behind your ear to help detect sound and understand speech.
• Assistive listening devices . Technology is available to amplify sound from your television, telephone and other personal electronic devices. ALDs can be used with or without hearing aids, depending on the type and severity of your hearing loss.

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