{"id":10934,"date":"2025-01-30T10:33:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T18:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/?p=10934"},"modified":"2025-01-30T10:33:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T18:33:02","slug":"could-you-have-reactive-tinnitus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/could-you-have-reactive-tinnitus\/","title":{"rendered":"Could You Have Reactive Tinnitus?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If you\u2019ve noticed that your tinnitus (ringing in your ears) worsens when exposed to everyday sounds in your environment, you may be experiencing reactive tinnitus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Brian Taylor<\/a>, Au.D., senior director of audiology at Signia, \u201cReactive tinnitus is a form of tinnitus that changes in loudness, quality or pitch, in response to average or even low-level noise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

Causes of Reactive Tinnitus<\/h2>\n\n\n

Any average-sounding noise you encounter could be a potential reactive tinnitus trigger, from a car horn blaring to crickets chirping to a song you play on your guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, while the resulting discomfort from the heightened tinnitus symptoms may be annoying, it is usually short-lived, with people tending to experience less severe noises or habituating over time.  <\/p>\n\n\n

Is Reactive Tinnitus the Same as Hyperacusis?<\/h2>\n\n\n

The short answer is no.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People with hyperacusis have an intense oversensitivity to normal sounds, making them seem painfully loud. For example, someone with hyperacusis may find their cat\u2019s meow as loud as a lion\u2019s roar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reactive tinnitus, on the other hand, causes an uptick in tinnitus symptoms in response to sound stimuli. Interestingly, 30% to 50% of people with tinnitus also have hyperacusis<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both conditions are likely the result of blockages impacting the nervous system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe underlying problem in hyperacusis and reactive tinnitus is thought to be an increase in neural inhibition or activity, in response to various stimuli,\u201d said Dr. Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Diagnosis & Management Options<\/h2>\n\n\n

Since no imaging or laboratory test can determine if you have reactive tinnitus, your doctor will make a diagnosis based on your symptom history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They may also ask you to complete the Sound Sensitive Tinnitus Index (SSTI), a self-reporting questionnaire, take the Loudness Discomfort Level Test, check for any underlying physical issues and test your hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n

Common Management Options for Reactive Tinnitus Include:<\/h2>\n\n\n
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  • Trying tinnitus sound therapy<\/strong>, which combines counseling with sound therapy<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Changing hearing device settings <\/strong>to ensurea too-loud volume won\u2019t trigger reactive tinnitus<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Wearing hearing protection<\/strong> to minimize your level of noise exposure<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Think you may have reactive tinnitus? Schedule a consultation today with our audiologists to start finding relief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you\u2019ve noticed that your tinnitus (ringing in your ears) worsens when exposed to everyday sounds in your environment, you may be experiencing reactive tinnitus. According to Brian Taylor, Au.D., senior director of audiology at Signia, \u201cReactive tinnitus is a form of tinnitus that changes in loudness, quality or pitch, in response to average or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":10937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10934"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10934"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10939,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10934\/revisions\/10939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}