Ringing within the ears, it may be the first signs of tinnitus

In recent times, when I was at my younger brother’s birthday celebration, my Dad made a allusion to having tinnitus (fundamentally an occasional-level ringing in the ears) and I told him that I’d made a gag about tinnitus in a recent post (for those concerned, the funny story was that it made things sound ‘a little tinny’ – Not amongst my better japes, I confess, but whatever…). He looked at me like I’d just farted in church while I hastily changed the topic.

So, if you’re struggling with hearing damage or tinnitus, what is it possible to do about it?

The truth is hearing problems are mainly attributable to damage to the inner ear. One way this can happen is due to constant attack of noises over 110 decibels. According to new information, the noise wears away the myelin sheath, which is the coating that protects the nerve cells of your inner ear.

The good news is, yet, that the myelin sheath will, generally, repair itself, so all you need to do is TURN THE VOLUME DOWN or just leave your iPod at home for a few days and you need to start seeing improvements.

Now and then, however, damage to the inner ear is so large that your body merely won’t be able to fix itself. In this case, you will need to train yourself to accommodate your newfound incapacity. It’s a process that may cause serious depression and anxiety if not adequately confronted and dealt with.

The Beaumont Health Scheme gives some useful tips for managing hearing loss on their website. As outlined by them, hearing loss could be combated when you follow these 3 steps:

1. Be an advocate for yourself. Others cannot guess what you need. By hiding a hearing loss you will miss conversation and may respond inappropriately and cause further miscommunication. Tell others if you are having difficulty understanding. If you don’t understand what someone has said ask him or her to rephrase the message, not just repeat it.  Often this will help improve your understanding.

2. Educate others regarding hearing loss. Many do not understand why you can hear that they are talking but cannot understand what you are saying. They also don’t know what they can do to help.  Ask others to talk more slowly and clearly and not to obstruct their mouths.

3. Manipulate your environment to your advantage.  Hearing clearly when there is background noise is probably the biggest challenge for people with hearing loss. When you can, choose quiet listening environments. In a restaurant, request to be seated in a quiet area away from the door and the kitchen. Partitions and low ceilings may be helpful to reduce noise. Also carpet and upholstery may help to reduce echo, which may help you to understand speech more clearly. Good lighting may also be helpful so that you can see the speaker’s face and gestures.

Another general (and fixable) problem is a development of earwax. Which is straightforward enough to resolve via regular use of a cotton bud. If that does not work, it is always possible to have your ears syringed, which is really a totally disgusting (but genuinely effective) technique for clearing out one’s ears. 

Your hearing will degrade as you grow old (like most things you hold dear I am afraid, up to and featuring: your metabolism, sexual potency, muscle tone, skin, charisma and hair colour). Yup. Sucks getting old.

In conclusion, if you are facing serious hearing problems, try to reduce any future harm. As it says on WikiHow:

“Although you can’t reverse the hearing loss you’ve already suffered, you can take steps to keep it from getting worse. Reduce your exposure to loud, sustained noises[. If noisiness like this is part of your job (say you’re a construction worker or employed at a concert venue), consider wearing specialty ear plugs or changing jobs. If you wear earbuds or headphones to listen to music, keep the volume low or moderate. Try to reduce your exposure to high volumes overall, and you’ll reduce future hearing loss”.

It’s also highly recommended to find a doctor. I’m not a doctor. I’m a contract writer with access to Google. If you think that anything mentioned within the above post affects you, then please make an appointment with the local Doctor.  

Ringing within the ears, it may be the first signs of tinnitus