5 Causes of Tinnitus
Tinnitus can be described as a ringing, buzzing or hissing sound in the ear that does not come from an external source. It is not a disease but a symptom of an underlying medical condition. It is not completely curable but it can be reduced to an extent that it will not disturb your day to day life. There are many cause for tinnitus, a few are listed below.
- Ear infections. Tinnitus is a symptom of ear disorders such as Meniere’s disease, otosclerosis, blocked Eustachian tube or a blocked ear canal, middle ear tumors and hearing loss. Brain or head injury, and high blood pressure can lead to ear disorders and when the ear is not in good condition, the result is a constant ringing in the ears.
- Accumulation of ear wax. Ear wax has a defensive function, it shields the underlying tissues. But an accumulation of ear wax could lead to many symptoms including tinnitus and mild deafness. It may cause earache together with a constant ringing in the ear and dizziness. Earwax is usually cleaned with a swab but prolonged and aggressive use of cotton buds, swabs and sharp instruments to clean the ears have been reported to cause or aggravate tinnitus as some of the wax gets pushed deeper inside the ears. So in case of excessive wax, it is advisable to get it cleaned by a doctor.
- Exposure to loud noise. Sudden explosions like fireworks, gunshots, or an impact of an accident such as vehicles colliding can lead to tinnitus. People that are subject to loud noises at work places such as in factories with loud machinery, musicians that are a part of loud musical concerts, people that frequent night clubs and bars where there is loud music playing, usually complain of tinnitus. Excessive usage of mobile phones and mp3 players also cause this symptom. The exposure to loud noise leads to cochlear damage which in turn results in that’s constant buzz in the ears.
- Stress. Though it cannot be said that stress directly causes tinnitus, it can very surely be said that it the tension that builds up in your body as a result of stress can aggravate it. Stress always attacks us at our weakest point, whether physical or mental. Whatever is bothering us will become worse under stress. Tinnitus causes continuous stress in many people and the stress, in turn, makes the tinnitus worse. Relaxing will put an end to this vicious cycle.
- Allergies and side-effect of medication. Sinus congestion, exposure to chemicals such as carbon monoxide from gasoline fumes or the benzene used by dry cleaners, or excessive consumption of aspirin, alcohol, or caffeine can also results in tinnitus. If you are wondering what the connection between allergies and tinnitus is well here it is. There are mucus membranes in the middle ear that produce mucus to clean the middle year. This mucus finds its way out of the Eustachian tube. Now when antibiotics and antihistamines are prescribed for allergies, the extended use of these will cause the mucus to become too thick to leave the tube. So it builds up in the middle ear thus causing an infection leading to tinnitus. . In fact, tinnitus is cited as a potential side effect for about 200 prescription and nonprescription drugs.
There are many remedies for tinnitus that may help prevent it from becoming too invasive. It would do good to seek medical help to determine the cause of this cracking noise in your ears and then resort to proper remedies to deal with this unfortunate ear condition.
By-line:
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of nursing schools online. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com
