Ear Specialists on Ringing in the Ears Cause
Ringing in the ears is medically known to be tinnitus – a disconcerting condition affecting children and adults in all parts of the globe. This is described as perception of noises in the ears or head without apparent external source. The noises can be pure tones or pure noise in quality. They also vary in severity. Some patients hear low humming noise while others succumb to roaring sounds. The troubles of having ringing in the ears cause people to seek for remedies. However, remedy is basically based on the cause.
There are a number of causes of tinnitus, some of which remain to be unidentified. Nevertheless, it is wise noting that this condition is a symptom and not a disease. The causes range from auditory problems to cardiovascular anomalies to neurologic disorders.
The leading cause of tinnitus is loud noise exposure. Most people these days come in contact with noises loud enough to do serious damage in the ears. Suppose you live in areas near busy streets, you could endanger your hearing more than you know. Audiologists for instance warn that noises above 85 decibels are no longer safe for a certain period of time, say 8 hours. Most factory machinery is built to generate noises that hover around that intensity. This means that staying for 8 hours at work in these places can do harm in the long run.
An impaction of earwax in the ear canal can be a ringing in the ears cause. Ear infections and Meniere’s disease may also lead to the problem. Natural deterioration of the hearing tissues may also be a factor. That is why tinnitus is not uncommon among the elderly. Otosceloris or stiffening of the ossicles – middle ear bones – can also lead to the condition.
Stress, anxiety and depression are identified to be aggravating factors. But they have also been believed to be the culprit of the condition especially in cases all about ringing in the ears when no real culprit is identified. Head and neck trauma and tumors may also give rise to relentless or intermittent abnormal noises.
Vascular and circulatory problems are also linked to tinnitus. Hypertension, hypotension and anemia are identified to cause some cases of objective tinnitus. Atherosclerosis, which is caused by fatty deposits on the walls of blood vessels, may cause disturbed blood flow near the ears, and this is heard by a sensitive individual as pulsatile tinnitus.
Ototoxicity is another ringing in the ears cause. Some drugs such as aspirin, antibiotics, cancer medications, quinine, and some antihistamines can have ototoxic effects – meaning they may cause some loss of hearing and tinnitus.
