What causes ringing/noises in the ears?
Ringing (tinnitus is the technical term) in the absence of stimulating sound from outside the ear can be caused by many things, from fatigue to certain doses of medications such as aspirin. It is believed that the ringing is due to spontaneous activity in the cochlea. The most common cause of tinnitus is hearing loss, and in particular sensorineural hearing loss. This is probably because patients with sensorineural hearing loss have some damage in the cochlea that is causing the hearing loss. It is these damaged sections that are presumed to be producing the spontaneous activity that leads a patient to hear sounds in their ear.
