Tinnitus Causes
Knowing the different tinnitus causes plays a crucial role in the search of the ringing in the ears sufferers for a treatment that would work for them. It is mainly because the unwanted sound is a symptom of a an underlying medical condition, and treating it means treating the condition that caused it. To help you with the determination of what caused the ringing in your ears, go visit your doctor.
There are four known tinnitus causes. The first and the most common is noise-induced cochlear damage. Come to think of it, around 90% of the cases of tinnitis is caused by sudden or repeated exposure to loud noises, and this is quite alarming especially in this age of iPods or MP3 players. This may mean that the sufferers of the condition would be getting younger and younger.
If we repeatedly expose our ears to loud noise, let us say by listening to our MP3 players set to more than 60% of the maximum volume, we are damaging the tiny hairs in the cochlea. These tiny hairs move when sound is detected, thus transmitting electrical impulses to the auditory nerve, which is then interpreted by the brain as sound. However, when these tiny hairs get damaged, they randomly send electrical impulses, even though there is no external source. Again, the brain interprets it as sound, which is known as tinnitus.
Another main cause is stress, and this is in relation to the workings of the hypothalamus. As we know, the hypothalamus is a primitive part of the brain that plays a crucial role in the production of essential chemicals. These chemicals are needed by the body for it to function normally. But, when the hypothalamus is exposed to prolonged periods of stress, it gets damaged and fails to do its function in the production of the essential chemicals. Unhealthy conditions then arise, including ear ringing.
Then there is sinusitis or allergies. The sufferers of sinusitis usually take antibiotics while people who have allergic reactions take antihistamines. What happens is that these medications thicken the mucous in the middle ear, which becomes difficult to drain away. Pressure then builds up in the middle ear, leading to middle ear infections as well as ringing in the ears.
The last of the main tinnitus causes is Meniere’s Disease. It is an inner ear disorder, the attacks of which are characterized by vertigo, hearing fluctuation, and of course, ringing ears.
