What Causes Ringing in the Ears?

An article by Adrian Featherstone.

What causes the ringing in the ears that we universally call tinnitus? Well, it could be that the sufferer has very recently been in a particularly noisy environment. Exposure to very loud or even constant mid-range noise can leave the ears ringing for anyone until the ears have settled down and recovered to their normal state. This of course is quite normal.

However hissing, whistling or ringing in the ear can be symptomatic of a number of conditions. These can range from an ear infection right through to a neurological disorder.

Tinnitus is defined as being a condition in which a sound is perceived to be heard in the ear although that sound is not related to any outside source. These noises can be of a low pitch or a high pitch. They can take the form of a hissing, a ringing or a buzzing. They can be constant or they might come and go. In fact the sounds of tinnitus are so variable that they go beyond generalisation. Suffice it to say that the tinnitus sufferer knows he has a noise in his head that just shouldn’t be there.

Outside of the diagnosis of noise induced tinnitus common causes of tinnitus are things such as a build up of earwax or just an ear infection. Any head or neck injury and especially whiplash can initiate tinnitus. In such cases the ringing in the ears is likely to dissipate as the injury heals leaving no lasting problem.

The onset of tinnitus is often associated with the general degradation of the hearing system which naturally occurs in the ageing process. As the ability to hear outside noise diminishes it seems that the sounds of tinnitus, which may have been there already, become apparent when other sound isn’t heard to mask it.

Ringing in the ears is a frequent companion to high levels of stress, as it is with high blood pressure. Unfortunately the onset of tinnitus can in itself raise stress levels. As stress is often linked with high blood pressure, a vicious circle can develop here.

Sometimes tinnitus is a sign that there is a more serious health problem developing. Conditions such as Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Meningitis and Thyroid disorders all have a link with symptoms of tinnitus. For that reason it is always advisable to take medical advice at the first opportunity when these symptoms appear.

More articles by Adrian Featherstone:

• Ringing in the Ear. The onset of a sound like a ringing in the ear can be caused by a sudden exposure to a loud sound, continuous exposure to noise or potentially to an underlying health issue.
• Much Needed Tinnitus Relief.  Living a normal life with the sounds of tinnitus constantly ringing in your ears would seem an impossibility to most tinnitus sufferers.
• Tinnitus Cures That Might Work For You. With the realisation that the noises you are hearing in your ears or in your head are not going to go away comes the journey to either eliminate them or to learn to live with them.
• Alternative Tinnitus Treatment.  Most people who have found that they are living with the ringing in the ears which characterises the sounds of tinnitus will have been told by their medical practitioner that there is no known tinnitus cure.
• Subjective and Objective Tinnitus.  The sounds of tinnitus that will be so well known to those living with this condition are variously described as ringing in the ears, hissing,whistling or buzzing.
• Symptoms of Tinnitus.  Millions of people around the globe experience the symptoms of tinnitus. The ringing in the ears which characterises this complaint is especially common in the towns and cities of the industrialised western world.
• Symptoms For Tinnitus.  Ringing in the ear is one of the primary symptoms of tinnitus. Tinnitus being a condition which commonly affects about a fifth of the population aged 55 or over.
• What Causes Tinnitus.  There will be few people who have gone to a discotheque or to a live band concert who will not have experienced the sounds of tinnitus.
• Finding Your Own Tinnitus Relief.  Only those of us who have lived with the sounds of tinnitus singing away in our consciousness and who have suffered the constant ringing in the ears that goes with it truly understand the trauma tinnitus creates. 
• The Early Days of Your Tinnitus. Whether they realise it or not most people have heard the sounds of tinnitus. After exposure to any very loud noise we all have a ringing in the ear to some degree.
• Tinnitus Hypnosis.The use of Tinnitus Hypnosis and Tinnitus Hypnotherapy in the battle to clear tinnitus symptoms has long been recognised... 
• The Effects of Tinnitus. Tinnitus is widely described as a condition
  in which a person hears noises where no corresponding external noise exists.
• Beginning the Search for a Tinnitus Cure. If you were able to ask a large group of sufferers who were looking for a tinnitus cure to describe the arrival of a tinnitus sound in their lives, a great many of them would tell you a remarkably similar story.
• Do Any Tinnitus Remedies Actually work?  Anybody who has had the misfortune to find themselves living with tinnitus will be only too well aware of the frustration that this debilitating condition can cause the sufferer.
• In Puruit Of A Tinnitus Cure. Realising that the noise in your ears just isn’t going away can initiate a sense of panic and stress into even the most stoic of us. The diagnosis of tinnitus that so often follows this realisation only serves  to compound the problem still further. 
•  Tinnitus Masking. Those of us that suffer with the intrusion of tinnitus sound in our ears will know that the condition is at its worst when there is no other external noise to dilute that sound. It is at these times that tinnitus masking can be extremely effective. 
• Turn Down Those Tinnitus Sounds. The volume of your Tinnitus Sounds will almost certainly relate closely to your state of mind. When we are feeling down and out of sorts, when we feel depressed and moody we become very inward looking. Of course for the tinnitus sufferer, waiting for them inside their head there are always those tinnitus sounds.
• Tinnitus Sound and Stress. Stress has long been recognised as being a major player in both the cause and subsequent intensity of tinnitus sound.