Pharmacist's Antidote | What to do if you have tinnitus? This article will give you a detailed understanding of subjective tinnitus

Xiao Li is a white-collar worker in a company. He has been working overtime recently. One day during work, he suddenly heard a series of "hissing" sounds in his ears, which lasted for a long time. He went to the hospital for treatment, and the doctor diagnosed it as "subjective tinnitus" after examination. What kind of disease is this? Should it be treated?

What is subjective tinnitus?

Tinnitus is divided into objective tinnitus and subjective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus refers to the presence of real physical sound wave vibrations that can be perceived by others or recorded by instruments; subjective tinnitus refers to a subjective feeling that one can hear abnormal sounds in the ear in a particularly quiet environment without external sound sources or external stimulation. Subjective tinnitus accounts for the vast majority of tinnitus, and the prevalence of subjective tinnitus in the population is as high as 10% to 30%.

Subjective tinnitus is often caused by damage to some cells in the inner ear. These damaged cells send false signals to the brain, causing people to mistakenly think they hear certain sounds. This damage can be caused by:

●Normal aging and hearing loss.

●Negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and excessive stress.

●Knocking and high-decibel noise.

●Medications, including aminoglycoside antibiotics, anti-epileptic drugs and analgesics, etc.

●Head or neck injury.

● Bad living habits, such as overeating, excessive smoking and drinking, frequent ear cleaning, long-term overload work, staying up all night playing games, and wearing Bluetooth headphones for a long time.

●Certain diseases, such as hypertension, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, dyslipidemia, thyroid disease, etc.

Most people with subjective tinnitus hear a steady, high-pitched ringing sound, but some may hear:

Hissing sound

●Pulsating sound

●Squeaky sound

Buzzing sound

●Beep sound

●Whistling sound

These sounds may disappear after a few seconds or minutes, or last for hours, days, or even months or years. They may be felt in the ears, in the head, or in the air. They may become louder or softer during activity or exercise.

Does subjective tinnitus need treatment?

Don't be too anxious when you have subjective tinnitus. More than 90% of people with subjective tinnitus will not be affected in their normal life and do not need medical intervention; only about 3% to 5% of patients with more severe subjective tinnitus need medical intervention.

When a patient with subjective tinnitus has the following conditions, it is called tinnitus disease and needs to actively seek treatment: accompanied by aversive emotional reactions, such as anxiety, depression, etc.; related to actual or potential physical or mental harm, accompanied by sleep disorders, dizziness, dementia, mental fatigue, etc.; tinnitus lasts for more than 3 to 6 months.

Although drug therapy is currently the most common method for treating subjective tinnitus, due to its unknown cause, the medication is often not targeted, and relevant guidelines in various countries do not advocate drug therapy.

At present, there are two types of drug treatments for subjective tinnitus: one is for tinnitus itself, and the other is for anxiety, depression, insomnia and other symptoms associated with tinnitus. When giving patients drug treatment, it is necessary to distinguish the purpose of treatment, and the effect should also be evaluated differently. In the acute stage of subjective tinnitus, sudden deafness treatment plans can be tried, such as ginkgo leaf extract tablets and hormones, which can achieve good results for some patients. However, it should be noted that some sensitive patients may become excited and euphoric after taking the medicine, which may affect sleep, and the dosage can be reduced as appropriate.

To prevent subjective tinnitus, we should focus on psychological intervention and guidance, establish a positive and healthy attitude, and maintain good living habits. Those working in occupational noise environments should protect themselves, minimize exposure to noise sources, and pay attention to regular hearing tests. The elderly should manage their underlying diseases.