During the test, you'll sit in a soundproofed room with headphones that transmit specific sounds to one ear at a time. The doctor may ask you to move your eyes, clench your jaw, or move your neck, arms, and legs. The family doctor will examine your ears to see if the tinnitus is due to something they can treat, such as an ear infection or a build-up of earwax. It's not uncommon to experience a temporary bout of tinnitus, perhaps after a loud concert.
However, approximately 20 million people have chronic annoying tinnitus and 2 million have extreme cases. It may help to know that tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease. Researchers believe that the noises that people hear inside their heads are the brain's reaction or a way of adapting to some type of ear damage. Tinnitus is sometimes, but not always, accompanied by hearing loss, making it especially common among older people.
Our & hearing balance surgery program has an attentive team of multidisciplinary specialists who can provide innovative solutions to help diagnose, treat and manage a variety of congenital and acquired disorders affecting hearing. The otolaryngologists at Yale Medicine are up to date with the latest research and treatments for tinnitus and can offer a realistic and effective treatment plan. By talking about the symptoms of tinnitus with an audiologist and doing a hearing test, you can learn more about the cause of the problem and review possible treatment options.
