Tinnitus The Sound of Ringing In Your Ear

What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is ringing or humming sound in the ears, and can be due to several causes that can include an undiagnosed condition that may require medical attention.

Tinnitus can be caused by:Fluid or ear wax build upRepeated infections Disease of the bones in the middle ear or ear drumMedications such as aspirin, indicating a possible overdoseMeniere's diseaseBrain tumorAneurysm

Types of tinnitus:

Constant Intermittent Pulsating

Diagnosis:

Medical history, physical examinationA battery of special hearing tests to determine location

Tinnitus can be a result of hearing loss or vertigo. Constant tinnitus requires an audiogram to be performed.

Other tests:

Auditory brain stem response (ABR), tests the hearing nerves and brain pathways, CT scan MRI scan to rule out a tumor

Treatment:

There is no one treatment for tinnitus, and it may disappear on it's own or may last throughout life. At times it is treated with niacin, which has a side effect of skin flushing.

Prevention:

The use of Q-tip swabs should be avoided as it may push ear wax deeper into the ear canal, resulting in tinnitus. If you have hypertension (high blood pressure) taking your medication on time daily can help to prevent tinnitus from occurring. If your occupation involves working in a noisy environment, such as a factory with loud machines, wearing protective covering over your ears is pretty much mandatory if you want to protect your hearing. Loud concerts also are a culprit for tinnitus.

Tinnitus can be intense and can be reduced by:

Avoiding loud noises when ever possibleManaging high blood pressureLower anxietyAvoid fatigueAvoid taking large quantities of aspirin.

The noise of tinnitus can also be lessened by not concentrating on it. The more you think about it the more you hear it and the louder it gets. It can be masked by having some other some other sound in the room such as a ticking clock, a radio at low volume, or a fan. This is called white noise and can be effective in reducing the tinnitus ringing in your ears.

You can try testing the white noise yourself, by running water from the faucet to determine if you are still hearing the ringing in your ears. You will see that the tinnitus is much less noticeable. Also think of the times that you don't hear it, particularly when you are concentrating on something else. Tinnitus is mostly heard when your surroundings are super quiet and no other noise is present. Leaving that quiet environment, or adding some white noise to it, you will less likely to be annoyed by the ringing in your ear.

The first start to reducing tinnitus is to visit with your health care provider to rule out a more serious underlying cause such as a brain tumor. Most times just adding some other sound to your environment will reduce the problem.

by Barb Hicks RN/LMT