Tinnitus is very common. About one in five people between 55 and 65 years old report tinnitus symptoms on a general health questionnaire and 11.8% on more detailed tinnitus-specific questionnaires.
Calm Radio, an internet radio station, has introduced sixteen new "Atmosphere" channels for Tinnitus and Ringing-in-the-Ears sufferers. These channels come in varying degrees of noise colors. From whitenoise, to pinknoise and brownnoise…depending on the severity of the ringing you are experiencing.
We all become accustomed to sound around us. Most of the time we don't pay attention and ignore it. That is becomes our natural listening state. This is called Auditory Habituation. The difficulty lies when you are in a quieter environment….lacking the sound the mind perceives as "normal". The mind expects the habitual sound it is accustomed to. The mind remembers it and will even re-create it for you. This is Tinnitus. the ringing can't be measured because only you can hear it.
Calm Radio's Atmosphere Channels can help in retraining your ears and mind. By playing an Atmosphere channel, like "Rain", or "Surf", slightly below the level of the ear ringing, your ears will gravitate to this new sound. Will they cure Tinnitus? According to studies it is possible. However, it will take time….several months and retraining your mind, using your ears…to accept the noise and/or lack of noise around you. Welcome all sounds, embrace them… all sound is good. Loud sounds can be painful and you should protect yourself, however, do not associate loud sound as "bad", but rather, sound at a higher volume.
Tinnitus maskers are commonly used by tinnitus sufferers when trying to sleep or relax as it is within these quiet environments when the tinnitus is at its most noticeable. When used in conjunction with a sound pillow (which contains small embedded speakers) they can mask tinnitus sounds without disturbing his/her partner.
Calm Radio's masker channels use soothing natural sounds such as ocean surf, rainfall, crickets, wind… that are in the white noise, pink noise and brown noise frequencies to help the auditory system become less sensitive to tinnitus, and promote relaxation by reducing the contrast between tinnitus sounds and background sound.
The custom MultiMix Player enables you to mix up to three additional Atmosphere Channels with your music selection. This way you can adjust how much masking you need depending on the severity of the tinnitus you are experiencing.
Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period (but usually with some duration), ear infections, foreign objects in the ear, nose allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain, or wax build-up. In-ear headphones via sound entered directly into the ear canal itself, without any opportunity to be deflected or absorbed elsewhere are a popular cause of Tinnitus with volume set beyond modest or moderate levels.
Tinnitus can also be caused by natural hearing impairment (as in aging), as a side-effect of some medications, and as a side effect of genetic (congenital) hearing loss. However, the most common cause for tinnitus is noise-induced hearing loss. Some sufferers require masking at all times.
Some listeners have had much success using a Sound Pillow. This pillow has speakers inside. The one possible drawback could be that your partner might hear the sound. We have heard from one Calm Radio listener that his spouse sleeps even better when she hears the Beach Waves sound channel.
Other devices include a speaker dock for your mobile device ($50 and up), a Logitech Sqeezebox. Visit Calm Radio's website for more information.
If you think you may be suffering from Tinnitus, please contact us for a confidential assessment at one of our specialist audiology clinics in Marlow and Slough.