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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Do I Need A Tinnitus Test?

By Matt Hellstrom

If you or somebody you know has ever had ringing, buzzing or whistling in the ear, you might be asking what it could be. Chances are, it may be a condition called "tinnitus," which comes from the Latin for "ringing." And once you think you have it, and need to be tested, you might be asking what makes up a tinnitus test?

People who experience tinnitus relate that they hear a constant or intermittent ringing or buzzing. This noise can be a low hum or a sharp whistle, for starters. Most times, it doesn't go away or lessen in volume. For a few, it's there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and its severity can often become a major issue.

People suffering from this problem will go to a doctor complaining of buzzing or ringing in the ear. Keep in mind that tinnitus itself isn't an illness but a sign of some other condition that's causing the buzzing or ringing. It might also occur because of an allergy or reaction to some medicine. Additionally, extreme noise can help to cause it. Remember to explain your symptoms to your physician when you're being examined.

Steady ringing in the ear is one sign of tinnitus. It's also possible you may hear a sharp whistling tone which won't go away. Most of the time, you'll be the only one to hear it, and it may appear and disappear and then reappear. Don't confuse the once-in-a-while ringing or whistling tone you may hear with tinnitus, though. That, according to fable, is just because somebody's talking about you!

How tinnitus affects people varies from person to person. Being a purely subjective illness, some people complain of serious problems, while other describe it as no more than a nuisance, like a mosquito buzzing in their ear. An interesting fact is that doctors themselves can sometimes hear the sound tinnitus creates in the ear of the person affected. The medical name for the sound is "bruit," which is a general term for any sound an illness may cause in a person.

Tinnitus can be hard to test for, because of its subjectivity. Usually, the first thing to do is get a hearing exam. Some physicians will do a "Tinnitus Handicap Inventory," to measure how severe the problem is before devising a treatment schedule. Also, giving the doctor a history of problems you might have is a good idea. Try to be upfront during this examination, because tinnitus may also go along with memory loss, poor general health, fatigue or anxiety. A tinnitus test and any treatment relies upon getting a good physical history, and embarrassment over one of these problems will hinder, not help, possible treatment.

If the ringing in your ears that you've begun to experience doesn't go away, you should see a doctor. A tinnitus test isn't complicated, and usually doesn't take much time. Please do everything you can to assist your physician in getting to the root causes behind the tinnitus so that an effective plan of care can be developed. Lastly, stay away from the things which you've found that caused it in the first place, such as loud noise or certain medicines. After all that, you won't be asking what makes up a tinnitus test! - 17273

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