In the construction industry, there are various hazards that your supervisors and managers should protect you from. According to the CDC, about 14% of all construction workers suffer from hearing difficulties, with about 7% suffering from tinnitus.
While you cannot cure tinnitus, you can find ways to cope with it.
Treating Tinnitus
To treat tinnitus, the physician will examine why you have the condition. Some ways they may try to treat it include removing earwax or providing hearing aids. Most construction workers have tinnitus because of noise. To treat this form of tinnitus, you may need hearing aids.
Other treatments include counseling. When you go through behavioral treatment, you may learn to cope with the symptoms. For example, if you go through tinnitus retraining therapy, the therapists combine sound masking and counseling. You may wear a device in your ear and also receive counseling. Over time, you may notice the symptoms less and feel less upset by the symptoms.
Counseling can also help you learn to cope with eh symptoms. For example, if you experience anxiety or depression due to the condition, cognitive behavioral therapy can help treat the mental health conditions.
Using Noise Suppression
Some treatments can help make the symptoms of tinnitus less noticeable. White noise machines, for instance, can produce static sounds, environmental sounds to help with tinnitus. When you have fans or other white noise machines on at night, you may not notice the tinnitus as much. Likewise, you may be able to obtain masking devices that you wear within your ear. The devices produce a low-level white noise that suppresses tinnitus.
Researchers are still looking for solutions to tinnitus, including magnetic and electrical stimulation.