Tinnitus
Swa
Nchi za Afrika zinazidi kuwa kwa kila njia na wala sio bila matatizo. Mojawapo ya matatizo yanayotokana na maendeleo ni mchafuko wa mazingira kwa kelele na matokeo yake. Watu wengi Afrika wanaishi na Tinnitus na wanalaumu pilkapilka za maisha na kuzidiwa na uchovu… sio mbali na ukweli.
Tinnitus ni neno gumu kufafanua. Wengi husema kuwa ni kuhisi sauti ya kitu kama vile unaposikia mabawa ya nyuki watokapo mzingani kila saa kichwani mwako. Ni mtu aliye na Tinnitus peke yake anayeweza kueleza jinsi inavyojitokeza. Tinnitus SIO ugonjwa lakini ni dalili ya kuonyesha kuna kitu kisicho sawa mwilini.
Ukichukua mfano wa dereva wa basi, Tinnitus kwake unaweza kuwa mgurumo wa chini, kwa upande mwingine, watu wengi walio na matitizo ya kusikia wanaotafuta usaidizi kwa watibabu wa maswala ya kusikia ( wanaaudiolojia), imeonekana (lakini utafiti kamili haujafanywa) kuwa mtu aliye na Tinnitus iliyo na kilio cha juu, huwa na upungufu wa kusikia katika eneo hilo.
Tinnitus yaweza anzishwa na mazingira na jinsi mwili unavyojibu katika mazingira/matokeo tofauti. Nilivyosema hapo awali, Tinnitus ni dalili ya kitu kingine kinachoendelea mwilini. Mazingira husababisha Tinnitus inayodumu muda mfupi, lakini pia kuna watu walio na Tinnitus isiyopotelea popote kila wanachojaribu na ‘kinachozidi panapokuwa kimya’. Mipigo ya mishipa mwilini huweza fanya mtu akahisi ana Tinnitus. Ikiwa misuli kwenye mabega na shingo hayajalegea kutosha kutokana na ’stress’, Tinnitus ikijitokeza huweza potelea mbali mwili unapolegea kutokana na mazoezi kadhaa na kurejea hali ya kawaida.
Tinnitus sio kitu cha kudharau vile maana ni dalili ya kitu kisicho sawa mwilini. Kwa mfano, watu walio na Menia (Meniere) huwa na Tinnitus kama mojawapo za dalili. Tutazungumuzia Menia katika makala mengine.
Tinnitus haina tiba lakini unaweza ishi maisha bora ukijua jinsi ya kuitunza. Sio kila mtu hupata Tinnitus maishani mwake lakini ni vizuri kuelewa kuwa Tinnitus ipo.
Eng
Industrilization in the developing world has it’s effects. One of this is noise pollution and the consequences that come with it. Many people in Africa are now experiencing Tinnitus and they attribute this to tiredness and stress and the truth is, this could not be further from the truth.
Tinnitus is a difficult term to describe. The most common description is that it is a constant ringing or buzz in the ear/head. It is purely a subjective experience and only the patient can expound on it.Tinnitus is NOT a disease but often a symptom related to something else.
If you take an example of someone like a bus driver, the tinnitus in this case according to him may be experienced as a constant hum which is low in frequency, on the other hand, many people who have made a visit to an audiologist due to hearing loss related problems and tinnitus comes up when taking the patient’s history, it has been observed (though not properly researched on) that people with highfrequency loss often experince high pitched tinnitus.
Tinnitus can be triggered by the environment and how one’s body responds to certain situations. As earlier mentioned, Tinnitus is a symptom. Other than the extrinsic causes which often trigger short phased tinnitus, there are people who suffer from constant tinnitus which may be experienced as ‘worse with silence’. Pulsations from the body can also be a cause of a person’s experience of Tinnitus. When one’s neck and shoulder muscles are tensed up due to stress, they can experience Tinnitus which often goes away with relaxation techniques.
In persons with tumours and more so along N VIII (Auditory Nerve) , Tinnitus can be a very important signal as to part of the overall diagnosis.People living with Meniere also have Tinnitus as one of the symptoms. Meniere will be discussed in detail in a different post.
There is no cure for Tinnitus but it can be managed to make life more bearable. Not everyone experiences Tinnitus in their lifetime but it is good to acknowledge that it does exist.