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By Veronica Beltran

there's hope for those with tinnitus

TYH: Got a constant noise or ringing in your ear? What you need to know about tinnitus

Aug 25, 2020 | 8:01 AM

Tinnitus, pronounced TIN-eh-TUS, but often mispronounced as tin-EYE-tus, is when a person hears a noise or ringing that isn’t actually there.

One local Audiologist says that she has heard from many of her patients suffering from the sometimes debilitating ring in their ear, that they’ve been told there is no hope for them.

“You don’t have to endure this sufferance indefinitely there his help.”–Dr. Shelley Corbett, Audiologist, Prince George Hearing Centre

According to Dr. Corbett, the most common cause of tinnitus stems from damage to hearing through loud noise. However, can be caused by head traumas, some medical conditions, and sometimes it runs in genetics.

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If tinnitus is caused by something audiologists can treat, such as a concussion, or medicine (sometimes certain medications can cause tinnitus), tinnitus can go away, but for those with tinnitus caused for uncurable reasons, Corbett says that there is hope.

“What we want to do is teach your brain, this is not an important sound.”–Dr. Shelley Corbett, Audiologist, Prince George Hearing Centre

Tinnitus management is possible, by teaching your brain what to listen to and what to ignore. Corbett compared it to when you are watching television, and you have noises in the background like a fan or the dishwasher, and how your body tunes those background noises out to focus on the television.

One of the first steps to treating tinnitus is to get a hearing assessment, followed by ruling out causes for the ear disturbance and then looking at how to treat or manage it. Corbett says that tinnitus is preventable, to an extent. By caring for your ears, keeping them protected from loud noises and keeping up a healthy lifestyle.