What causes tinnitus?
The scientific community is still uncertain as to why people experience tinnitus. Some causes can be as simple as impacted wax in a person’s ear, or an ear infection. Certain medications may have tinnitus as a side effect. Other causes are inner ear diseases or trauma to the head and neck. Exposure to loud noises can often leave people with tinnitus.
It is still somewhat uncertain as to what specifically causes tinnitus. It can be as simple as a build up of wax or an ear infection. Some people experience tinnitus as a side effect to certain medications. Other causes are inner ear diseases or traumas to the head and neck. Frequent exposure to loud noises can also produce tinnitus.
The exact cause (or causes) of tinnitus is not known in every case. 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 the majority of 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 signals. There are a number of likely factors which may cause tinnitus or make existing tinnitus worse: noise-induced hearing loss, age-related hearing loss, ear diseases and disorders, wax build-up in the ear canal, certain medications, ear infections, , jaw misalignment, cardiovascular disease, certain types of tumors, thyroid disorders and many others. Of these factors, exposure to loud noises and hearing loss are the most probable causes of tinnitus. I strongly recommend that an Audiologist and a Physician should evalua
Tinnitus is the term for the perception of sound when no external sound is present. It is often referred to as “ringing in the ears,” although some people hear hissing, roaring, whistling, chirping, or clicking. Tinnitus is not a disease but a symptom of another underlying condition – of the ear, the auditory nerve, or elsewhere. Tinnitus can be intermittent or constant, with single or multiple tones. Its perceived volume can range from very soft to extremely loud. 50 million Americans experience tinnitus to some degree. Of these, about 12 million have tinnitus which is severe enough to seek medical attention. Of those, about two million patients are so seriously debilitated by their tinnitus, that their day to day functioning is affected. The exact cause (or causes) of tinnitus is not known in every case. There are, however, several likely factors which may cause tinnitus or make existing tinnitus worse: noise-induced hearing loss, wax build-up in the ear canal, certain medications, e
