Commenting on the condition one of the three authors of the study and University of California, Irvine Medical Center’s ear surgeon Harrison Lin said that the condition tinnitus is associated with eventual loss of hearing. While one may think that it’s only common in the elderly or in industrial workers or rock musicians, it’s far more common than what you may be expecting, as a new study has revealed one out of 10 Americans suffer from the condition.
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“The analysis showed that approximately 10 percent of people in the USA ages 18 and older had experienced ringing or the sensation of noise – such as roaring, buzzing, beating, whooshing or whistling – in their ears or head in the past 12 months”, according to a recent Live Science report.
According to Dr. Harrison Lin, assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery at UC Irvine Medical Center, most of the patients with tinnitus will not have any medical health-related complication from the condition.
Among an estimated (SE) 222.1 (3.4) million USA adults, 21.4 (3.4) million (9.6 percent) experienced tinnitus in the past 12 months.
For tinnitus sufferers, the problem isusually only occasionally annoying, but in chronic casese it can have a big impact on the individual: it can interfere with sleep, concentration, thought processing and life in general.
For the study, Lin and his colleagues evaluated data on almost 76,000 adults who took part in the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. The only year in which a question about symptoms of tinnitus has been included in the survey was 2007. In the survey, respondents were asked about whether or not they experience ear ringing, and if so, how severe and how often.
Of those who were struck by tinnitus, only 36 percent said they had it constantly, however. Around 56% of men and women having ringing in their ears have faced the problem for more than five years and 27% of the people with tinnitus had faced the symptom for over 15 years.
The researchers also found that people exposed to loud noises in their workplace or during recreational activities were more likely to experience the ringing sensation.
The study revealed that 42 percent of participants considered ringing in their ears a small problem, with less than half talking about their symptoms with their doctor.
Tinnitus is characterized by hearing sounds when there are none.
It’s suggested that people visit a doctor when they commonly experience tinnitus or when ringing of the ears affects their quality of life. If you have, a new study featured in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery says you’re not the only one.
Generally speaking, tinnitus manifests in the form of sounds that people might hear even when there aren’t any.
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Of the treatment options, doctors advise hear aids, masking devices and cognitive behavioral therapy. A hearing aid will not only alleviate the hearing impairment but also may improve tinnitus symptoms, he noted.
