Ringing of The Ears

What Causes Ringing Of The Ears

Many people suffer from the annoyance of a ringing sensation in their ears, and they can find no solution to what the problem is. There are numerous causes for the ringing sensation people hear and the problem can actually become serious if it is not treated. In order to know how to treat the ringing problem, it is important to understand what causes ears to ring in the first place.

Tinnitus is the medical term for ringing in the ears. There are two classifications of tinnitus, Objective Tinnitus and Subjective Tinnitus.

Objective Tinnitus:

Objective tinnitus is the name given a ringing in the ears that cannot only be heard by the person suffering from it, but also by someone listening to the sounds of the body usually with the aid of a stethoscope. This faint but perceptible noise is usually caused by turbulent blood flow within the blood vessels. The sufferer may hear a whooshing, gushing or even possibly a clicking sound pulsating in time with the person's heartbeat. Some serious, potentially lethal conditions can cause this kind of tinnitus, such as an aneurysm or dissection of the carotid artery.

Subjective Tinnitus:

Subjective tinnitus is the most common type of tinnitus people experience. Subjective tinnitus is when the ringing sound can only be heard by the person suffering from tinnitus. There are a number of causes of subjective tinnitus, but sometimes, subjective tinnitus happens to a person for no obvious reason, similar to the way hearing loss happens to older people.

If you are suffering from tinnitus, you may want to consider these factors when determining what causes ears to ring.

Damage to the Head or Eardrums:

When someone experiences neck or head trauma, there is the chance that the eardrums may be damaged. If the eardrums are damaged, the middle ear is usually the source of the ringing sound.

Loud Noises:

Some of the most common causes of tinnitus are loud noises. The source of these loud noises can encompass everything from listening to loud music, shooting off firearms, to working in an environment that is excessively loud. Loud noises can damage the eardrum, which results in the ringing sound known as tinnitus. There are tiny hairs inside the cochlea in our ears. These tiny hairs pick up noise vibrations that surround us, convert the vibrations into electrical pulses and send the electrical pulses to our brain to be interpreted into sound. Excessively loud noise tends to damage these little hairs. Once damaged, random signals are sent to the brain, even though no actual noise is present, and the brain interprets these random sounds as the ringing you hear.

Sinus Congestion:

Many people who experience tinnitus also suffer from sinus problems. The medications taken to relieve sinus congestion have been known to cause ringing in the ears. The chemicals in the drugs that work to kill the bacteria that are causing the sinus problems can cause the mucus in the nose and ears to thicken creating pressure within the middle ear. Once the pressure builds, the person will begin to hear noises that are associated with tinnitus.

Medication

There are a number of drugs such as antiviral, chemotherapy, antibiotics, analgesics, diuretics that can affect the inner ear and cause tinnitus. If you are taking medication and you experience tinnitus, you should consult your doctor to ensure that it is not the cause of your tinnitus.

Meniere's Disease

Meniere's Disease is a disorder of the inner ear, that can cause pressure to built up within the ear. Those suffering from Meniere's Disease may experience vertigo, nausea, dizziness, and a ringing sensation in their ears.