Tinnitus Specialist

Sharp Hearing Care Professionals

Audiology located in Oxnard, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and Tarzana, CA

More than 50 million Americans experience tinnitus, and for 20% of them, the ringing in their ear is severe enough to impact their quality of life negatively. Kevin Sharim, and the team at Sharp Hearing Care Professionals have extensive experience helping patients find relief so they can return to their favorite activities. If you suffer from tinnitus, call one of the offices in Oxnard, Santa Barbara. Tarzana, and Santa Monica, California, or request an appointment online today.

Tinnitus Q & A

What is tinnitus?

If you have tinnitus, you hear a sound or noise in your ears that isn’t caused by your external environment. Tinnitus can create phantom noises such as:

  • Ringing
  • Roaring
  • Buzzing
  • Clicking
  • Whistling
  • Hissing

Instead of hearing a sound, you can also experience a pulsating sensation in your ear. Tinnitus can occur in one or both ears, be soft or loud, and remain constant or come and go.

What causes tinnitus?

In many patients, the cause isn’t determined. You may develop tinnitus when the tiny hairs inside your ears are damaged. When sound waves enter your ear, they normally make these hairs vibrate. But when the hairs are broken or bent, they may send random messages, causing the phantom sounds.

Some of the most common causes of tinnitus include:

  • Age-related hearing loss
  • Earwax buildup
  • Exposure to loud sounds
  • Auditory nerve problems
  • Certain medications
  • Pressure on the eardrum
  • Eustachian tube dysfunction

Though not as common, tinnitus may develop due to temporomandibular joint disorders, head injuries, and an inner ear condition called Meniere’s disease. Muscle spasms in your inner ear could also cause tinnitus.

How do you treat tinnitus?

After talking with you about the sounds you hear and examining your ears, your audiologist at Sharp Hearing Care Professionals conducts a comprehensive hearing evaluation. If they identify an underlying cause for your tinnitus, such as excessive earwax or fluid in your ear, your treatment begins by taking care of the problem.

If medication is responsible for your tinnitus, you may need to consult the physician who prescribed it to change the dose or the medication if possible. In some cases, you may need medical attention for underlying problems. Although it’s not common, pulsatile tinnitus can signal a vascular condition.

Your audiologist at Sharp Hearing Care Professionals may need to prescribe medication to reduce the severity of your symptoms. If you have hearing loss and tinnitus, a hearing aid may improve both problems. 

Your audiologist may also recommend a tinnitus masker, which is a specialized hearing aid that generates white noise to mask tinnitus. For mild cases, you may find relief from listening to background music with headphones or earbuds.

If you’re ready to find relief from tinnitus, call Sharp Hearing Care Professionals or request an appointment online.