Who hasn't experienced a whistling, humming or hissing noise in the ear for a few seconds or minutes at a time? If a ringing in the ears is heard repeatedly over a longer period of time, this is known as tinnitus.
Causes
A distinction is made between objective and subjective tinnitus, because depending on which type is present, the cause is also very different and therefore causes different problems.
Objective tinnitus: It can be heard by other people and can also be measured medically. This involves flow noises caused by constricted blood vessels or clicking sounds triggered by muscle twitching in the ear or palate.
Subjective tinnitus: This can only be heard by those affected and cannot be measured medically. It is probably triggered by damaged hair cells and malfunctioning nerve pathways that transmit incorrect signals to the brain. Around 30% of those affected have experienced subjective tinnitus as a result of excessive noise exposure. Various types of ear diseases, such as middle ear infections or eardrum defects, also lead to symptoms.
Symptoms
The following noises occur individually or in combination, are heard constantly or recurrently and can only be heard in one or both ears: A whistling, beeping, hissing, buzzing, ringing, hissing, knocking, creaking, hammering, humming, clanging and/or clicking. In addition, the key and pitch can vary, as can the rhythm and volume.
For some sufferers, however, chronic tinnitus significantly impairs their quality of life. This is because tinnitus can be associated with other stresses such as sleep disorders, dizziness, concentration problems, pain and tension in the shoulder and neck area, which in turn has a negative impact on work performance and also leads to worry and nervousness.
Prevention
To protect yourself from tinnitus, it is important to visit places with a high noise level only with suitable hearing protection and not to do without it in everyday life. After all, it can be loud not only at a concert, a building site or at an event, but also in everyday life. Whether in an open-plan office, on the streetcar or on the way home, high noise levels lurk everywhere and can lead to tinnitus if excessive exposure occurs.
To protect you from damaging noises in everyday life, we recommend the Invisible+ hearing protection from SCHALLWERK®. Thanks to its almost invisible design, the earplug "disappears" into your ear so that you can find peace and quiet even in everyday life.
If things do get a little louder, for example at a concert or event, then our Music+ from SCHALLWERK® is perfect for this. You can enjoy the concert to the full with the same sound quality despite the noise reduction.
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