Tinnitus – What Factors Contribute to the Recurrence of this Disorder?
Three months ago my 53 year old mother had a stapedectomy in an effort to both improve her hearing and possibly eliminates the tinnitus (ringing of the ears) that she had been experiencing. While the surgery seemed to improve her hearing, she is still battling the tinnitus, how can this be?
Tinnitus (ringing or noise) is a hearing, health problem that is still a mystery to the medical community. Stapedectomy or removal of the stapes bone in the middle ear has been shown to offer some relief of the disorder. However, it is not a guarantee that the problem will be eliminated and has even been known to make the disorder worse in some patients.
Since tinnitus is not a simple disease to diagnose, it is difficult, if not impossible to find the cause of the problem. Because there is no clear cause, it is even more difficult find the cure. There are, however, some contributing factors that can cause recurrence of the disorder.
Loud noises:
People who work in areas with loud noises such as construction equipment, gun fire, noisy indoor environments such as Casinos, Arcades, and Game rooms often suffer from tinnitus.
Health problems:
Another cause for tinnitus has been linked to certain health issues such as, diabetes, high blood pressure, meniere’s syndrome, as well as head injuries and TMJ to name a few.
Food and drug allergies:
Food and drug allergies can also play a part in the onset of tinnitus. Allergies to the following foods and / or drugs have been connected with tinnitus. Additives such as caffeine, monosodium glutamate, and nicotine, are among the most common allergies.
In answering your question, all these contributing factors must be addressed in order to pinpoint the cause of the tinnitus. It is important to note that surgery is not a recommended treatment for tinnitus. While in this case the surgery was performed in an effort to improve the patience hearing. It shouldn’t be looked at as a cure for the tinnitus.
The audiologist handling your mother’s case must do a complete battery of test for food and drug allergies. They also need to look closely at your mother’s lifestyle and work history and environment. Family medical history is also an avenue to explore, to ascertain if there was a history of hearing problems and especially tinnitus in her family.
In administering treatment her physician must be careful not to prescribe anything to her that could adversely affect recovery from her surgery. Nothing should be done to cause her to lose the hearing she has gained from the surgery. Furthermore, it is important to monitor any drugs given her very closely until all her allergies are known. Along with test and treatment the patient must be careful to properly care for her ears with proper cleaning and care, as well as wearing hearing protection when exposed to loud noises.
This along with some simple lifestyle changes like eliminating caffeine and nicotine from her diet as well as mp3 style listening devises should help diminish her tinnitus.
December 7th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
There is some movement toward treating tinnitus, by treating the external causals rather than using drugs, etc.
Findings:
Tinnitus was significantly more frequent in the electromagnetic hypersensitive group (50.72% vs. 17.5%) whereas tinnitus duration and severity did not differ between groups.
ref: http://sciencestage.com/resources/association-tinnitus-and-electromagnetic-hypersensitivity-hints-shared-pathophysiology
There are paints and material that shield against this radiation. Hope this may help those suffering from tinnitus.