What Is Tinnitus? Auditory Condition May Be Linked to COVID-19—Here’s What to Know
HEALTH.COM – Texas Roadhouse announced this week that Kent Taylor, the company’s CEO, died by suicide after suffering from severe tinnitus linked to a recent COVID-19 infection.
Taylor’s story is tragic, and it’s terrifying that others have also experienced tinnitus linked to COVID-19. Here’s what you need to know about the condition.
What is tinnitus, exactly?
Tinnitus is an auditory condition that causes a ringing, roaring, clicking, hissing, or buzzing sound in the ears, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
Tinnitus may cause a soft or loud sound that is high or low pitched. It can also appear in one or both ears.
Richard Salvi, PhD., co-founder and director of the University at Buffalo’s Center for Hearing and Deafness, tells Health:
“Patients have described it as buzzing, ringing, crickets chirping, or the sound of bacon on a frying pan. There are a lot of different perceptions that people have.”
Deyanira Gonzalez, Au.D., an audiologist at Baylor College of Medicine, tells Health that tinnitus can cause a sound that’s “barely audible in quiet, or can be loud enough to be noticeable even with background noise.”
There is a range that people experience with tinnitus, with some having more severe cases of the condition than others. Salvi says:
“For people with severe tinnitus, the sound is constant and never stops, which makes it really difficult to deal with.
“Especially when you try to go to sleep in a quiet room. It follows you around all the time.”
At least 10% of the adult population of the U.S. has had tinnitus in the past year that lasts for at least five minutes, the NIDCD says.
Before you panic and assume you have tinnitus the next time you hear a ring or buzz, know this: It’s normal to have random little sounds here and there … Click source below to read more.
