Ear Ringing, (T)
No matter how tinnitus is called – ear ringing, (T), ear noise, and so on – it remains that haunting sound that can cost you a lot of things. It may cost you your job, your personal relationships, your overall health, and even a normal life. It is because you may hear it day in day out, and it can be so bothersome that your daily activities are impeded.
What is tinnitus about? It is defined as the perception of sound in the ears or head where no external source is present. It is reported to affect around 66 million people in the United States in one way or another. Around 12 million people of this number are severely affected to the extent that living a normal life or functioning normally in the society becomes difficult for them.
Of the medical conditions that cause ringing in the ears, noise-induced cochlear damage is the most common. To be more specific, it is the root cause of around 90% of the cases of tinitus. This says a lot about how noisy our environment has become, how we spend our leisure time listening to loud music, or how we work around very noisy environments without using any ear protection. If you are fond of listening to music and you do not want to damage your cochlea, then remember the rule of 60: have your MP3 player or stereo set to not more than 60% its maximum volume, and limit your listening to music to 60 minutes per day.
Other known causes include stress, sinus problems or allergies, Meniere’s Disease (a leading cause of vertigo), presbycusis or age-associated hearing loss, earwax impaction, head injuries, muscle tension, hyperlipidemia, high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and malformation of the capillaries. As the unwanted sound is a symptom of an underlying medical condition, it is strongly recommended that if you experience it, immediately go visit your physician to have its root cause determined with a fair degree of certainty.
There is no cure for ear ringing, (T), or tinnitus. However, remedies are available to manage its effects or even reduce it to ignorable to the extent that it will no longer be a factor in your life. These include alternative treatments in the likes of acupressure, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, meditation, reflexology, relaxation therapy, herbal preparations, and homeopathic tinnitus remedies. Devices like hearing aids and white noise maskers are also being used to make the unwanted sound less noticeable.
