Tinnitus

What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is the sensation of hearing a sound that does not have an external source. It is usually generated within the hearing pathways in the brain. Tinnitus is often described as ringing in the ears but can be heard as a many different types of sounds. Children often describe tinnitus as sounding like bees or other bugs or music notes. They might hear the sounds occasionally or all the time, though it's not always the same sound.

Tinnitus is not something anyone has to just have to learn to live with. 

It’s true we don’t have a “cure” for tinnitus as far as the use of medications, surgeries, or devices for children. However, there ARE ways we can help children and adolescents with tinnitus. 

At One Another Early Hearing Care, we use strategies based on current research and published clinical guidelines, and everything we do is tailored to your child's developmental level and specific concerns. 

What to Expect at Our First Visit 

During our first visit, we’ll focus on an accurate assessment, including talking about your child’s medical history, learning more about the noise or sounds they hear and how it impacts their life. We want to be sure to address anything that may be causing tinnitus or making it worse, and we’ll discuss other professionals who might also be able to help. As with managing other conditions, our first priorities are helping your child feel comfortable and building their trust.

All children with tinnitus should have a full hearing evaluation. If they’ve had a hearing test recently, we'll review those results. Often this discussion of how their tinnitus is or is not related to their hearing is a first step of reducing the impact of tinnitus. If they haven’t had a recent hearing test, I can help you get that scheduled with an audiologist in your area (and we can set up a visit if you live in central Georgia). I’ll let your child know what to expect and provide some tips for doing a hearing test with tinnitus. 

Though our first visit is primarily an evaluation, I'll help to identify and begin to address your child's main concern during the visit, explain tinnitus in a developmentally appropriate way for your child, and give you an idea of what follow-up visits will be like. Though we’ll be talking about tinnitus, we’ll actually be aiming to bring the focus away from it. We're happy to be able to help more families by offering this service online or in person.