Causes of Ringing Ears
Tinnitus is a disruptive symptom that causes ringing, buzzing, or other annoying sounds in the ears.
The sound is not always ringing ears; while it is most usually a ringing or buzzing, it can also manifest as hissing, whistling, chirping, or other sounds.
Sometimes the noise is continuous, and sometimes it comes and goes.
It can also vary in loudness, but it is usually worse when background noise is low.
In some rare cases, the sound can even beat in synchronization with your own heartbeat.
The effects of tinnitus can be as mild as simple annoyance and as severe as sleep disturbances and concentration difficulties.
It can also cause irritability, fatigue, clinical depression and musical hallucinations.
It causes a disruption to a person's lifestyle, but everyone reacts to it in a different fashion.
The sound caused by tinnitus is sometimes soft, like a background noise, but sometimes can be so loud that it is heard even over louder external noises.
In some cases, known as objective tinnitus, others can even perceive the sound themselves coming from the sufferer's ears.
It is important to note that tinnitus is not a condition in and of itself.
Rather, it is a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, head or ear injury, a circulatory system disorder, or some other medical condition.
While bothersome, tinnitus usually is not a sign of something serious, and it can be treated or masked to make it either go away over time or become less bothersome.
What are the causes of tinnitus? There are a number of causes of ringing ears, but the most common cause is excessive exposure to loud noises.
For this reason, tinnitus is seen most often in people who have worked as construction workers, police officers, firefighters, musicians, and other concert staff.
Other things can cause tinnitus, though.
For example, some antibiotics, loop diuretics, non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and other drugs are ototoxic, or toxic to the auditory system.
Exposure to these drugs can cause hearing loss as well as tinnitus.
All told, more than 260 different drugs have been shown to cause tinnitus as a side effect.
Tinnitus can also be caused by other medical and neurological conditions.
Arnold-Chiari malformations can cause tinnitus, as can multiple sclerosis and various forms of head injury, such as skull fractures, closed head injuries, whiplash injuries, and others.
Metabolic disorders such as thyroid disease, hyperlipidemia, iron deficiency anemia, and vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause tinnitus.
Other causes of tinnitus include, but are not limited to: Fibromyalgia Vasculitis Hypertonia Lyme disease Migraines Sleep paralysis Anthrax vaccines that contain the anthrax protective antigen Nasal congestion Intracranial hyper or hypotension, as that caused by encephalitis Whatever the cause of tinnitus, it is important to properly diagnose the underlying cause of this symptom.
Without treatment of the condition causing the tinnitus, other symptoms may arise that have even worse consequences.
If you experience unusual sounds in your ears, make sure you seek a medical examination soon to find out what is causing your tinnitus and how it might be treated.
The sound is not always ringing ears; while it is most usually a ringing or buzzing, it can also manifest as hissing, whistling, chirping, or other sounds.
Sometimes the noise is continuous, and sometimes it comes and goes.
It can also vary in loudness, but it is usually worse when background noise is low.
In some rare cases, the sound can even beat in synchronization with your own heartbeat.
The effects of tinnitus can be as mild as simple annoyance and as severe as sleep disturbances and concentration difficulties.
It can also cause irritability, fatigue, clinical depression and musical hallucinations.
It causes a disruption to a person's lifestyle, but everyone reacts to it in a different fashion.
The sound caused by tinnitus is sometimes soft, like a background noise, but sometimes can be so loud that it is heard even over louder external noises.
In some cases, known as objective tinnitus, others can even perceive the sound themselves coming from the sufferer's ears.
It is important to note that tinnitus is not a condition in and of itself.
Rather, it is a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, head or ear injury, a circulatory system disorder, or some other medical condition.
While bothersome, tinnitus usually is not a sign of something serious, and it can be treated or masked to make it either go away over time or become less bothersome.
What are the causes of tinnitus? There are a number of causes of ringing ears, but the most common cause is excessive exposure to loud noises.
For this reason, tinnitus is seen most often in people who have worked as construction workers, police officers, firefighters, musicians, and other concert staff.
Other things can cause tinnitus, though.
For example, some antibiotics, loop diuretics, non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and other drugs are ototoxic, or toxic to the auditory system.
Exposure to these drugs can cause hearing loss as well as tinnitus.
All told, more than 260 different drugs have been shown to cause tinnitus as a side effect.
Tinnitus can also be caused by other medical and neurological conditions.
Arnold-Chiari malformations can cause tinnitus, as can multiple sclerosis and various forms of head injury, such as skull fractures, closed head injuries, whiplash injuries, and others.
Metabolic disorders such as thyroid disease, hyperlipidemia, iron deficiency anemia, and vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause tinnitus.
Other causes of tinnitus include, but are not limited to: Fibromyalgia Vasculitis Hypertonia Lyme disease Migraines Sleep paralysis Anthrax vaccines that contain the anthrax protective antigen Nasal congestion Intracranial hyper or hypotension, as that caused by encephalitis Whatever the cause of tinnitus, it is important to properly diagnose the underlying cause of this symptom.
Without treatment of the condition causing the tinnitus, other symptoms may arise that have even worse consequences.
If you experience unusual sounds in your ears, make sure you seek a medical examination soon to find out what is causing your tinnitus and how it might be treated.
