Tinnitus refers to a perception of sound and is commonly reported by sufferers as ringing, hissing, roaring, humming and pulsing without external sound stimulation. In Malaysia, the prevalence of tinnitus among adults ranged from 10.6%-19.9%, with the highest prevalence was noted for older adults (more than 55 years of age). The prevalence was also higher in men compared to women according to the study entitled ‘Management of subjective tinnitus by clinical professionals in Malaysia: A cross-sectional survey study’ in 2019. Tinnitus can occur in one or both ears. It also can be continuous throughout the day or occasionally. The effects of tinnitus to the sufferer vary depending on the severity of the tinnitus itself and the individual’s perception towards the tinnitus.  

Factors And Severity of Tinnitus  

Tinnitus can happen due to a lot of factors including impacted ear wax in the external ear canal, hearing loss, head injury, loud noise exposure, middle ear problem, head and neck tumor, consuming ototoxic medicine and drugs, Meniere’s disease, high blood pressure and stress. The severity of the tinnitus categorized into very mild, mild, moderate, severe and catastrophic based on a questionnaire known as Tinnitus Handicapped Inventory (THI). The severe and catastrophic level will need medical consultation and assistance. For very mild to moderate level could be help by using several coping techniques including sound therapy, hearing aid and masker, relaxation technique and cognitive behavioral therapy.   

Purpose Of the Tinnitus Therapy  

The goal of those techniques is to improve the perception of an individual towards the tinnitus itself, reduce the attention towards the tinnitus and help to ameliorate the involvement in the daily activities to the fullest. Therefore, those are considered as the rehabilitation steps to enhance habituation towards the tinnitus.  

What Should You do When You Have Tinnitus  

The management of the tinnitus in the first place has to be step by step. Once you notice you have tinnitus, you may seek medical expertise. Your tinnitus will be treated according to its possible source medically. If it is associated with hearing loss, you will be referred for a hearing assessment. On condition that your tinnitus has been identified not due to any medical illness, you will be advised for other coping strategies including sound therapy or masker. Here is where the counselling and therapy started.   

Sound Therapy  

Specifically, for the sound therapy, audiologists will perform further tests apart from the Pure Tone Audiometry, which is known as Tinnitus Audiometry, to understand the characteristics of your tinnitus better. Once the result is obtained, audiologists will introduce the masker sound from the sound generator to mask out the tinnitus presence. The aim for the sound therapy is to let you utilize the masker sound, which is presented through the device without any additional transducer, for instance headphone or earphone. The reason is to ease the usage and make it as natural as possible without the need to focus on the masker every time you turn it on, like the way you are focusing on the podcast or anything similar using your air pod or earphone. You will be advised to turn it on whenever you prefer, say while relaxing at home, sleeping and reading, until you become habituate to tinnitus and no longer need the aid of the sound generator.  

In short, tinnitus is an unpleasant symptom. It is irritable, discomfort, triggers anxiety, fear, frustration to most of the sufferers and even depression. Hence, the effort to seek help to ease the situation is very much recommended. With the therapy available, the tinnitus might not completely vanish, but you may live peacefully along with your tinnitus.  

Syahirah Kamarul Hakim, Clinical Audiologist at 20dB Hearing Ipoh