Tinnitus

Carrie Tynan

All my life I have had a soft ringing sound in my ears known as tinnitus. It affects one out of five Americans. The sounds can range from a loud roaring to a clicking, hissing and chirping sound. Tinnitus commonly accompanies sensorinueral inner ear hearing loss, which is my case. There are several other causes such as stress, allergies, and exposure to loud noises. It’s been determined that different medications can cause tinnitus. Examples of theses are aspirin, antidepressants and sedatives. It’s very important to consult with your doctor about side effects.

At this time there is no known cure for tinnitis, but several treatments are available to help people cope. One is masking the sound with devices like hearing aides. Another suggestion is trying herbs and minerals such as ginkgo biboba to help reduce tinnitus, as well as cutting back on caffeine, chocolate, alcohol, tobacco and salt. The method I found that works for me is mind over matter. This means I have trained myself to ignore the ringing in my ears through meditation, being surrounded by quiet sounds like music and nature sounds. Focusing on other thoughts and sounds is the key to turning down the sound of tinnitus.

Carrie Tynan is a columnist visit her site at

http://clix.to/writerfiction

Additional Resources

American Tinnitus Association - atta.org/

Tinnitus.com