General information
The term Tinnitus aurium comes from Latin and means “the ringing of the ears”. In principle, the tinnitus symptoms are already described appropriately. The basic differentiation between objective tinnitus and subjective tinnitus is fundamental.
With objective tinnitus, the affected person perceives ringing in the ears, which can also be heard or measured by outsiders. This type of tinnitus aurium makes up the majority of cases. Possible sounds are those that originate, for example, from blood vessels or muscles. If the perceived ear sounds are not audible or measurable to the outside world, this is called subjective tinnitus.
Symptoms
It is important to note that tinnitus aurium is not a disease in its own right, but merely an expression of another underlying disease. The disturbing ear noises as a symptom of tinnitus aurium are still perceived as everyday sounds that are perceived. They can be felt in one ear, in both ears or even in the head.
A characteristic symptom of tinnitus can not only be the well-known ringing of the ears, but also a humming, hammering, knocking, cracking, buzzing, whistling, hissing, chirping or hissing. A combination of several ear noises is also possible. The ear noises either have a constant intensity, they are regularly pulsating or pulse-synchronous, i.e. coinciding with the heartbeat. The volume and pitch of the ear noises can also vary.
Compensated/Decompensated Tinnitus
As you can see, the acoustic impressions in the context of tinnitus aurium are manifold and vary from patient to patient. The tinnitus aurium can either be a constant burden to the affected person or it can only occur temporarily, for example in direct connection with stress or mental strain. Depending on the impairment of the affected person’s quality of life by the tinnitus, the tinnitus can be described as compensated or decompensated.
In the compensated form, the symptoms of tinnitus are not restrictive on the patient’s life and lead to only minimal suffering. The only difference is decompensated tinnitus, where the tinnitus symptoms have a negative impact on life. In the course of a decompensated tinnitus, not only are many areas of life restricted, but unpleasant consequences can be added to the actual tinnitus symptoms.
These consequences are called secondary symptoms because they are triggered by the main symptom, the tinnitus. These include concentration and sleep disorders, depression and anxiety. In addition, there are also accompanying symptoms, i.e. symptoms that are felt at the same time as the main symptom.
Symptoms that accompany the tinnitus include muscle tension, hearing disorders and social exclusion. Hyperacusis also tortures the affected person in many cases. Hyperacusis is a pathological hypersensitivity to sounds of normal volume.
If the tinnitus causes such extensive complaints, it can also cause incapacity to work or even suicidal thoughts. In many cases, decompensated tinnitus is specifically associated with depression. Not infrequently, affected persons feel powerless in the face of the ear noises as a tinnitus symptom and despair of these symptoms, as a doctor’s odyssey has been repeatedly performed without any real success.
In this case the tinnitus causes the depression. However, there is also the possibility that a depression leads to tinnitus. The following symptoms can possibly reveal a depression: bad frame of mind, lack of drive, lack of strength and joylessness.
A lack of appetite, sleep disorders and a lack of concentration can also be signs of depression. It is significant that, contrary to common belief, the tinnitus symptoms can be prevented by adequate treatment or the ringing in the ears is no longer a burden – the affected person is then considered cured.
