Over 50 million Americans have experienced tinnitus, or ringing in ears, which is the perception of sound without an external source being present.
About one in five people with this condition have bothersome tinnitus, which negatively affects their quality of life and/or functional health. It may be an intermittent or continuous sound in one or both ears. Its pitch can go from a low roar to a high squeal or whine, or it can have many sounds.
Persistent tinnitus lasts more than six months. Prior to any treatment, it is important to undergo a thorough examination and evaluation by an ENT (ears, nose, and throat) specialist, or otolaryngologist, and an audiologist. Your understanding of tinnitus and its causes will enhance your treatment.
What Are the Symptoms of Tinnitus?
It is not a disease per se, but a common symptom, and because it involves the perception of hearing sound or sounds in one or both ears, it is commonly associated with the hearing system. In fact, various parts of the hearing system, including the inner ear, are often responsible for this symptom. At times, it is relatively easy to associate the symptom of tinnitus with specific problems affecting the hearing system; at other times, the connection is less clear.
Common symptoms include:
- Constant high- or low-pitched ringing in ears
- Intermittent or constant roaring in ears
- Pulsation or beating noises in ears
- Associated with or without hearing loss
What Causes It?
- Most tinnitus is primary tinnitus, where no cause can be identified aside from hearing loss. Secondary tinnitus is associated with a specific underlying cause that may be treatable. Your ENT specialist will help you distinguish whether your symptom is primary or secondary.
- It may be caused by different parts of the hearing system. The outer ear (pinna and ear canal) may be involved. Excessive ear wax, especially if the wax touches the ear drum, causing pressure and changing how the ear drum vibrates, can result in tinnitus.
- Middle ear problems can also cause it, including middle ear infection (common) and otosclerosis (uncommon), which hardens the tiny ear bones or ossicles. Another rare cause from the middle ear that does not result in hearing loss is muscle spasms in one of the two tiny muscles in the ear. In this case, the symptom can be intermittent and sometimes your examiner may also be able to hear the sounds.
- Most subjective tinnitus associated with the hearing system originates in the inner ear. Damage and loss of the tiny sensory hair cells in the inner ear (that can be caused by different factors such as noise damage, medications, and age) may also be associated with tinnitus.
- One of the preventable causes is excessive noise exposure. In some instances of noise exposure, tinnitus can be noticed even before hearing loss develops, so be careful to take special precautions to protect your ears and hearing in noisy environments.
- Medications can also damage inner ear hair cells and cause tinnitus. These include both non-prescription medications such as aspirin and acetaminophen, when taken in high doses, and prescription medication including certain diuretics and antibiotics. As we age, the incidence of tinnitus increases.
- It may also originate from an abnormality in, or near, the hearing portion of the brain. These include a variety of uncommon disorders such as damage from head trauma, or a benign tumor called “vestibular schwannoma” (acoustic neuroma).
- When this symptom sounds like your pulse or heartbeat, it is known as “pulsatile tinnitus.” Infrequently, this may signal the presence of cardiovascular disease, narrowed arteries, or a vascular tumor in your head and neck, or ear. If you are experiencing this type of tinnitus, you should consult a physician as soon as possible for evaluation.
- Finally, non-auditory conditions and lifestyle factors can exacerbate tinnitus. Medical conditions such as temporomandibular joint arthralgia (TMJ), depression, anxiety, insomnia, and muscular stress and fatigue may lead to, or exacerbate, tinnitus.
Call Rocky Top ENT & Allergy at 931-219-9990 or 865-383-0737 for more information and to schedule an appointment.