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We Need to Know if You Have Ringing in Your Ears
Posted on 5/29/2020 by Young Jun DDS MD FACS
We Need to Know if You Have Ringing in Your Ears
Tinnitus is a condition that affects roughly 15 to 25 percent of the population in America. It's mainly characterized by Ringing in your ears. It's not a life threatening condition, but can severely impact someone's quality of life. When you schedule a visit with us, please ensure that you let us know that you have the ringing in your ears. It will help us a great deal in tailoring the appointment to accommodate you. In our offices, there are procedures, materials and equipment that might make the tinnitus worse. Therefore, we need to know beforehand so that we can make the necessary arrangements to be able to work on your teeth without causing more damage to your ears. Here is how we go about that:

Dental Drills

One of the most prominent ways tinnitus can be worsened is by the high pitched noise that comes from a dental drill. As we work on the teeth using the drill, its vibrations are conducted directly to the eardrum via the jawbone, which means that wearing earplugs would be ineffective here. Therefore, to prevent damage to the cochlea, we shall drill in short spurts. That means that we can deal for five seconds, then rest for twice the time and then do it again until the job is done.

Ultrasonic Plaque Removal

Since the tools mostly used to remove plaque use ultrasonic waves, they can exuberate tinnitus or even induce hearing loss. Since the tools operate at frequencies of about 12,000 to 15,000 Hz, they can only be used for short bursts i.e. 0.25 or 0.5 seconds. Therefore, the safest option here is to use the more mechanical tools for plaque removal. Since no high pitched sounds are available here, then you shouldn't worry about the tinnitus.
If you have any rigging in your ears or have already been diagnosed with tinnitus, your dentist should know about it immediately. This is so that we can be able to sort out your dental needs without causing you further harm. Although working this way might take a bit longer than usual, it's a lot better than going home without hearing in some ears.

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