Find Out What Causes Ringing in the Ear
Generally, a medical condition is what causes ringing in the ear or tinnitus, which is defined as the perception of sound in the ears or head where there is no external source. The unwanted sound must therefore not be taken for granted as it is sort of a warning that your body is suffering from an unhealthy condition. An intermittent ringing in the ears that you may experience may progress into a permanent one if nothing is done about it. The immediate thing that you should do is to see your doctor so that tests can be run to determine the root cause.
The conditions that cause ringing ears vary. They include:
Acoustic Neuromas. These are small, slow growing benign tumors that press against or invade the auditory nerves. They may be removed by surgery, but a risk of hearing loss is involved.
Allergic reactions to certain foods. Red wine, grain-based spirits, cheese, and chocolates are considered as problem foods as they may trigger tinitus. Also included are salicylate-rich foods and beverages such as apples, strawberries, broad beans, eggplant, peanuts, almonds, coffee, beer, rum, and sherry.
High Blood Cholesterol. It clogs cholesterol arteries that supply oxygen to the nerves of the inner ears. The unwanted sound may be reduced by if your cholesterol level is reduced.
Otosclerosis. It is a bony growth around the footplate of the stapes. The footplate forms the seal that separates the middle ear space from the inner ear. The sound vibrations are passed from the middle ear chain of bones into the fluid of the inner ears if the footplate moves normally. If on the other hand it is fixated, the vibrations cannot pass into the inner ear as well leading to hearing loss and tinnitus.
Ototoxicity to Drugs. Over 200 drugs are known to cause damage to the vestibulo-cochlear nerve that sends balance and hearing information from the inner ear to the brain. Examples of ototoxic drugs include analgesics (aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), antibiotics (aminoglycosides, tetracycline), and chemotherapy drugs (bleomycin, methotrexate).
Noise-induced cochlear damage. Constant exposure to loud noises such as amplified music, heavy construction, guns, and aircraft damage the cochlea. If you are regularly exposed to these noises, you should consider wear hearing protection such as earplugs.
Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Syndrome. What causes ringing in the ear also includes TMJ disorder. Other than tinnitus, it is also characterized by other symptoms including headaches, earaches, dull facial pain, the jaw locking open, and pain while chewing.
