What causes the ringing in the ears?
Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at
2:41 am
I know it can be caused from loud noises or from Tinnitus, but what actually causes it? Why do we hear that sound?
Filed under: Tinnitus Causes
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Hi Luke,
Scientists aren’t completely sure, but one possible mechanism is what we call ‘hypersensitivity’. Basically the nerves that conduct the information from your ear to your brain telling your brain that you’re hearing sounds are firing off by themselves, which gives you the impression of a ‘ringing noise’.
Tiny bells located in your eardrum ring at christmas time.
Tinnitus is usually due to damage to the microscopic ends of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. Perfect hearing is possible only if these nerves remain healthy and any damage to these nerves results in tinnitus or hearing impairment.
About Tinnitus
This extremely irritating and stressful condition of the ear is usually not caused by any external noise. This auditory sensation, or ringing in the ears, as it is widely known affects thousands of people. It involves a ringing noise in the ears which may or may not be accompanied by hearing loss. Although many tinnitus sufferers can hear perfectly well, some others experience such loud ringing in the ears that other sounds are virtually blocked out. This severe condition renders them helpless as they loose sleep and concentration.
Tinnitus can be broadly classified into two types: Objective which is caused by vascular sounds in the head and neck or muscular contractions of the middle ear or the soft palate in the mouth. Your doctor can easily hear the same sounds on examination as you are yourself hearing.
Subjective tinnitus refers to buzzing, roaring, ringing or whistling in the ear which may be continuous or intermittent and are only heard by the sufferer, i.e. a doctor is unable to hear the same sounds. Subjective tinnitus is more common than objective tinnitus. Nearly 36 million Americans suffer from this disorder. In almost all cases, only the patient can hear the noise.
Wax buildup in the outer ear, ruptured eardrum, congested Eustachian tubes, some infection, Ménière’s disease, Side effects of certain drugs like sedatives, antidepressants (as in your case), pain killers etc., Damage caused due to overexposure to loud noise, Elevated cholesterol and triglycerides level, diabetes, head or neck injury etc. are some reasons why humans have tinnitus.
There is actually no cure for tinnitus with the conventional medicine. Actually, since last many years, the onus has been on the herbal industry to provide relief, if any, to tinnitus sufferers.
You may check the source link below for more details on the above
Tinnitus is a condition where a person suffers from chronic noise in the ears; this problem is caused due to some sensitive parts in the inner ear being damaged due to a loud noise. Constant exposure to a certain level of loud noise eventually leads to ear damage as well. There are different tinnitus causes; some can be detected while some cannot.
People suffering with a constant ringing in the ears should visit a doctor, sometimes this can be corrected. Different health conditions may also contribute to heightened tinnitus, hearing examinations are necessary, as you read on you will find a few tinnitus causes, it is always better to have knowledge so that some action can be taken. Injury to the neck or head can be a cause of tinnitus; this is because injuries may cause damage to the nerves that are involved in hearing. However, this is more common in the case of tinnitus in one ear only.
Yes it is possible to have tinnitus in one ear only. Temporary tinnitus is caused by infections in the sinus near the ears which normally passes as the body heals.