What are ALL the causes of tinnitus?
I’ve had tinnitus for over a year now. Mine is a high pitch/hum, I can drown it out in the right environment, almost can feel it when it is very quiet. I don’t believe that mine is caused by hearing loss/damage like the ENT’s are saying. Why? Cause I can make my tinnitus louder when I move my jaw a certain way, or when I flex my neck muscles and other movements. If the noise is coming from my brain or from ear damage, how the heck can I make it louder???? Doesn’t make sense at all! So, I’m trying to figure out what IS causing it. I have had many tests that can rule out a few things. I’ve had an MRI, no tumors. Checked thyroid, diabeties, Iron level, cholesterol, high blood pressure, all are OK. So what else could it be?
Filed under: Tinnitus Causes
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Check out the list here (under "Causes"), maybe it will help. http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/Mosby_factsheets/Tinnitus.html
It does say that it’s often related to hearing loss.
It can also be caused by problems in the joints of your jaw so that might be why you can change it
Good luck.
Tinnitus (pronounced /tɪˈnaɪtəs/ or /ˈtɪnɪtəs/,[1] from the Latin word for "ringing"[2]) is the perception of sound in the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound(s).
Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is usually described as a ringing noise, but in some patients it takes the form of a high pitched whining, buzzing, hissing, humming, or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, "crickets" or "tree frogs" or "locusts", tunes, songs, or beeping.[3] It has also been described as a "whooshing" sound, as of wind or waves.[4]
Tinnitus is not itself a disease but a symptom resulting from a range of underlying causes. Tinnitus is the ability to perceive sounds which are always present within the auditory (hearing) system. This is a failure of the compensatory mechanisms that are part of its normal function. This "phantom" sound can create distress in the sufferer. [1] Causes include ear infections, foreign objects or wax in the ear, nose allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain and cause wax build-up, and injury from loud noises. Tinnitus is also a side-effect of some oral medications, such as aspirin, and may also result from an abnormally low level of serotonin activity.
The sound perceived may range from a quiet background noise to one that can be heard even over loud external sounds. The term "tinnitus" usually refers to more severe cases. Heller and Bergman (1953) conducted a study of 80 tinnitus-free university students placed in an anechoic chamber and found that 93% reported hearing a buzzing, pulsing or whistling sound. Cohort studies have demonstrated that damage to hearing (among other health effects) from unnatural levels of noise exposure is very widespread in industrialized countries.[5]
Because tinnitus is often defined as a subjective phenomenon, it is difficult to measure using objective tests, such as by comparison to noise of known frequency and intensity, as in an audiometric test. The condition is often rated clinically on a simple scale from "slight" to "catastrophic" according to the practical difficulties it imposes, such as interference with sleep, quiet activities, or normal daily activities.[6] For research purposes, the more elaborate Tinnitus Handicap Inventory is often used.[2][7]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Objective tinnitus
* 2 Measuring tinnitus
* 3 Mechanisms of subjective tinnitus
* 4 Prevention
* 5 Causes of subjective tinnitus
* 6 Treatment
* 7 Notable individuals with tinnitus
* 8 See also
* 9 Books
* 10 References
[edit] Objective tinnitus
In a minority of cases, a clinician can perceive an actual sound (e.g., a bruit) emanating from the patient’s ears. This is called objective tinnitus. Objective tinnitus can arise from muscle spasms that cause clicks or crackling around the middle ear.[8] Some people experience a sound that beats in time with the pulse (pulsatile tinnitus[9]). Pulsatile tinnitus is usually objective in nature, resulting from altered blood flow or increased blood turbulence near the ear (such as from atherosclerosis or venous hum[10]), but it can also arise as a subjective phenomenon from an increased awareness of blood flow in the ear.[9] Rarely, pulsatile tinnitus may be a symptom of potentially life-threatening conditions such as carotid artery aneurysm[11] or carotid artery dissection.[12]
[edit] Measuring tinnitus
The basis of quantitative measurement of tinnitus relies on the brain’s tendency to select out only the loudest sounds heard. Based on this tendency, the amplitude of a patient’s tinnitus can be measured by playing sample sounds of known amplitude and asking the patient which he or she hears. The tinnitus will always be equal to or less than sample noises heard by the patient. This method works very well to gauge objective tinnitus (see above.) For example: if a patient has a pulsatile paraganglioma in his ear, he will not be able to hear the blood flow through the tumor when the sample noise is 5 decibels louder than the noise produced by the blood. As sound amplitude is gradually decreased, the tinnitus will become audible, and the level at which it does so provides an estimate of the amplitude of the objective tinnitus.
Objective tinnitus, however, is quite uncommon. Often patients with pulsatile tumors will report other coexistent sounds, distinct from the pulsatile noise, that will persist even after their tumor has been removed. This is generally subjective tinnitus, which, unlike the objective form, cannot be tested by comparative methods.
If a subject is focused on a sample noise, they can often detect it to levels below 5 decibels, which would indicate that their tinnitus would be almost impossible to hear. Conversely, if the same test subject is told to focus only on their tinnitus, they will report hearing the sound even when test noises exceed 70 decibels, making the tinnitus louder than a ringing phone. This quantification method suggests that subjective tinnitus relates only to what the patient is attempting to hear. Patients actively complaining about tinnitus could thus be assumed to be people who have become obsessed with the noise. This is only partially true. The problem is involuntary; generally complaining patients simply cannot override or ignore their tinnitus. The noise is often present in both quiet and noisy environments, and can become quite intrusive to their daily lives.
Subjective tinnitus may not always be correlated with ear malfunction or hearing loss. Even people with near-perfect hearing may still complain of it. Tinnitus may also have a connection to memory problems, anxiety, fatigue or a general state of poor health.
[edit] Mechanisms of subjective tinnitus
One of the possible mechanisms relies in the otoacoustic emissions. The inner ear contains thousands of minute hairs which vibrate in response to sound waves and cells which convert neural signals back into acoustical vibrations. The sensing cells are connected with the vibratory cells through a neural feedback loop, whose gain is regulated by the brain. This loop is normally adjusted just below onset of self-oscillation, which gains the ear spectacular sensitivity and selectivity. If something changes, it’s easy for the delicate adjustment to cross the barrier of oscillation and tinnitus results. This can actually be measured by a very sensitive microphone outside the ear.
Other possible mechanisms of how things can change in the ear is damage to the receptor cells. Although receptor cells can be regenerated from the adjacent supporting Deiters cells after injury in birds, reptiles, and amphibians, in mammals it is believed that they can be produced only during embryogenesis. Although mammalian Deiters cells reproduce and position themselves appropriately for regeneration, they have not been observed to transdifferentiate into receptor cells except in tissue culture experiments.[13][14] Therefore, if these hairs become damaged, through prolonged exposure to excessive decibel levels, for instance, then deafness to certain frequencies occurs. In tinnitus, they may falsely relay information at a certain frequency that an externally audible sound is present, when it is not.
The mechanisms of subjective tinnitus are often obscure. While it is not surprising that direct trauma to the inner ear can cause tinnitus, other apparent causes (e.g., temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) and dental disorders) are difficult to explain. Recent research has proposed that there are two distinct categories of subjective tinnitus: otic tinnitus, caused by disorders of the inner ear or the acoustic nerve, and somatic tinnitus, caused by disorders outside the ear and nerve but still within the head or neck. It is further hypothesized that somatic tinnitus may be due to "central crosstalk" within the brain, as certain head and neck nerves enter the brain near regions known to be involved in hearing.
While most discussions of tinnitus tend to stress physical mechanisms, there is strong evidence that the level of an individual’s awareness of their tinnitus can be stress-related, and so should be addressed by improving the state of the nervous system generally, using gradual, unobtrusive, long-term treatments.[citation needed] [3]
[edit] Prevention
Tinnitus and hearing loss can be permanent conditions, thus, precautionary measures are advisable. If a ringing in the ears is audible after exposure to a loud environment, such as a rock concert or a work place, it means that damage has been done. Prolonged exposure to noise levels as low as 70 dB can result in damage to hearing (see noise health effects). For musicians and DJs, special musicians’ earplugs can lower the volume of the music without distorting the sound and can prevent tinnitus from developing in later years.
It is also important to check medications for potential ototoxicity. Ototoxicity can be cumulative between medications, or can greatly increase the damage done by noise. If ototoxic medications must be administered, close attention by the physician to prescription details, such as dose and dosage interval, can reduce the damage done.[15]
[edit] Causes of subjective tinnitus
Tinnitus can have many different causes, but most commonly results from otologic disorders – the same conditions that cause hearing loss. The most common cause is noise-induced hearing loss, resulting from exposure to excessive or loud noises. But tinnitus, along with sudden onset hearing loss, may have no obvious external cause. Ototoxic drugs can cause tinnitus either secondary to hearing loss or without hearing loss, and may increase the damage done by exposure to loud noise, even at doses that are not in themselves ototoxic.[16]
Causes of tin
Anything, such as wax or a foreign body in the external ear, that blocks these background sounds will cause us to be more aware of our own head sounds. Fluid, infection, or disease of the middle ear bones or ear drum (tympanic membrane) can also cause tinnitus.
One of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. Advancing age is generally accompanied by a certain amount of hearing nerve impairment, and consequently tinnitus. Today, loud noise exposure is a very common cause of tinnitus, and it often damages hearing as well.
Some medications (for example, aspirin) and other diseases of the inner ear (Meniere’s syndrome) can cause tinnitus. Tinnitus can in very rare situations be a symptom of such serious problems as an aneurysm or a brain tumor (acoustic tumor).
One of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. Advancing age is generally accompanied by a certain amount of hearing nerve impairment, and consequently tinnitus. Today, loud noise exposure is a very common cause of tinnitus, and it often damages hearing as well. Unfortunately, many people are unconcerned about the harmful effects of excessively loud noise, firearms, and high intensity music. Some medications (for example, aspirin) and other diseases of the inner ear (Meniere’s syndrome) can cause tinnitus. Tinnitus can in very rare situations be a symptom of such serious problems as an aneurysm or a brain tumor (acoustic tumor).
there’s a disease called meniere’s symptom that sometimes causes tinnitus… other than that, i have noo idea. i am experiencing a similar thing right now. i’m going to the doc tomorrow for my ears, so if he says anything different, i’ll let you know
I do not know all the causes, but I do know that it is affected by hearing loss. I have hearing loss myself, and I also have the same kind of hum every once in a while. It gets annoying sometimes, but it really only gets bad when I have listened to something really loud, like turning the television or stereo up. Most of the time it only happens when everything is quiet and I have taken out my hearing aids. I haven’t noticed it lately, but that I think is because I have the tv in the bedroom going when I fall asleep. I turn the tv on a timer before going to bed, so you might try the same thing with yours or even your radio. Maybe a little background noise to sleep to will drown out the hum. Other than that, I am sorry but I don’t have any kind of cure for it.
Your best bet is to search for the answer under the Edgar Cayce readings. The A.R.E. in Virginia Beach, Virginia has a circulating file on the subject of tinnitus and how to cure it as given by Edgar Cayce in a healing trance.
You might Google Cayce, ARE tinnitus, ringing in the ears, etc and get lucky if the ARE cures have been quoted elsewhere on the ‘net.
Get some cotton balls. Tear one in half. Roll up the piece into a plug and insert this into your ears.
You will be able to hear OK, however the ambient sound level will drop slightly and the ringing will rise a little – at first. After a while the ringing will drop because part of it is due to the ambient noise level irritating the damaged nerves.
I would wear the cotton when outside or in a club from now on to prevent a sudden loud sound from causing more damage. Take it out at night.