| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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Tinnitus is often described as a ringing in the ears. It also can sound like roaring, clicking, hissing, or buzzing. It may be soft or loud, high pitched or low pitched. You might hear it in either one or both ears.
Millions of Americans have tinnitus. People with severe tinnitus may have trouble hearing, working or even sleeping.
Causes of tinnitus include:
Treatment depends on the cause. Treatments may include hearing aids, sound-masking devices, medicines, and ways to learn how to cope with the noise.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Your ear has three main parts: outer, middle and inner. You use all of them in hearing. Sound waves come in through your outer ear. They reach your middle ear, where they make your eardrum vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted through three tiny bones, called ossicles, in your middle ear. The vibrations travel to your inner ear, a snail-shaped organ. The inner ear makes the nerve impulses that are sent to the brain. Your brain recognizes them as sounds. The inner ear also controls balance.
A variety of conditions may affect your hearing or balance:
Some ear disorders can result in hearing disorders and deafness.
Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear. It can cause severe dizziness, a roaring sound in your ears called tinnitus, hearing loss that comes and goes and the feeling of ear pressure or pain. It usually affects just one ear. It is a common cause of hearing loss.
Attacks of dizziness may come on suddenly or after a short period of tinnitus or muffled hearing. Some people have single attacks of dizziness once in a while. Others may have many attacks close together over several days. Some people with Meniere's disease have "drop attacks" during which the dizziness is so bad they lose their balance and fall.
Scientists don't yet know the cause. They think that it has to do with the fluid levels or the mixing of fluids in the canals of your inner ear. Doctors diagnose it based on a physical exam and your symptoms. A hearing test can check to see how it has affected your hearing.
There is no cure. Treatments include medicines to control dizziness, limiting salt in your diet, and taking water pills. A device that fits into the outer ear and delivers air pulses to the middle ear can help. Severe cases may require surgery.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Military service members and veterans have made sacrifices to our country, and they may face lots of different health issues. Some of the most common health problems they may have include chronic pain, sleep disorders, and mental health disorders.
But they may also face some different health risks than civilians. Serving to protect our country is a special job, and along with it comes some special risks and job hazards. These include different types of injuries and health problems from exposures.
What types of injuries do service members face?During their service, members are at risk for various injuries. These injuries can happen during training or while in combat. Sometimes the injuries are life-threatening or serious enough to cause disability. Others may not be as serious, but they may be painful and can affect daily life.
Some of the specific types of injuries that service members may face include:
There may also be a risk of health problems from exposure to environmental hazards, such as contaminated water, chemicals, infections, and burn pits. Sometimes the health problems caused by exposures don't develop until years later.
Some service members experience military sexual trauma (MST). This includes sexual assault and sexual harassment.
What mental health issues do service members and veterans face?Being in combat and being separated from your family can be stressful. So can readjusting to civilian life after the military. All of this stress can put service members and veterans at risk for mental health problems, including:
There is also a risk of suicide. Veterans who are in crisis can get help from the Veteran's Crisis line by:
There are health care services especially for service members and veterans through:
To better understand and treat the health needs of veterans in the future, the VA created the Million Veteran Program (MVP). This research program is looking at how genes, lifestyle, military experiences, and exposures affect health and wellness in veterans.
It's frustrating to be unable to hear well enough to enjoy talking with friends or family. Hearing disorders make it hard, but not impossible, to hear. They can often be helped. Deafness can keep you from hearing sound at all.
What causes hearing loss? Some possibilities are:
There are two main types of hearing loss. One happens when your inner ear or auditory nerve is damaged. This type is usually permanent. The other kind happens when sound waves cannot reach your inner ear. Earwax buildup, fluid, or a punctured eardrum can cause it. Treatment or surgery can often reverse this kind of hearing loss.
Untreated, hearing problems can get worse. If you have trouble hearing, you can get help. Possible treatments include hearing aids, cochlear implants, special training, certain medicines, and surgery.
NIH: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders