Tinnitus and tinnitus
Anyone who found a large shell on the beach as a child was doubly happy. Not only did you have a beautiful specimen for your collection, you could hear the murmur of the sea in it. Anytime you wanted, you could imagine yourself on the beach. Unfortunately, many adults experience daily ringing in their ears without holding even the smallest shell. They have "tinnitus.
Although as children we had to evoke the sound of the sea by holding the shell close to the ear, tinnitus sufferers do not have to do anything special to hear sound that is not there. They hear so-called "make-believe" sounds. The whooshing, buzzing, beeping, humming or whistling is continuous or intermittent. The sounds can be sporadic or all-pervasive. Imagine hearing an intrusive hum for hours every day! Wouldn't that drive you crazy?
Not much is yet known about the exact cause of tinnitus. What is clear, however, is that many patients with tinnitus have been exposed to too much noise, for example during music festivals or while working. People who operate machinery or have to deal with impulse noise (short, loud noises such as explosions) are most at risk. But teachers who teach gym classes or technical subjects are also at risk.
In addition, tinnitus can occur in people who have abnormalities of the inner ear, auditory nerves, jaw or blood vessels in the head. High blood pressure, an accident or stress can also cause tinnitus. Often tinnitus is accompanied by hearing damage. An estimated 1 million people in the Netherlands suffer from tinnitus.
Unfortunately, so far there is no treatment or medicine for tinnitus. For certain causes, treatment may reduce the disease. But by far most people will have to learn to get used to a life that is never "quiet" again. The irritating noise they hear will probably never go away.
And that is an unpleasant conclusion, when you consider the consequences it can have in everyday life: sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, depression and irritability. As you can imagine, many people with tinnitus are desperate.
This means that it is very important to prevent tinnitus whenever possible. And while we obviously have little control over abnormalities within the body or getting involved in an accident, in the case of hearing damage we can do something! Your hearing is irreplaceable, which is why you should take care of it at a young age. Research shows that 70% of young people who attend house parties are not concerned about the "beep" in their ears afterwards. While being exposed for a short or longer time to loud sounds can cause permanent hearing damage and thus tinnitus!
Wearing custom-made earplugs is a conscious choice by anyone who cares about their hearing.Nowadays there is special hearing protection on the market, which filters the harmful sounds but lets the music through. So you experience the noisy event the same way but healthy. For now and for later. And that way, even as a grandparent, you can still hear the sea murmuring in a shell....
