Tinnitus, ringing ears or head noise is a strange feeling of ringing, chirping, beating or roaring, which one may think they hear, but without any external source in reality. Some people perceive this sound as a quiet enough background noise, while some others may find it irritating and loud, many time to the extent of drowning all other outside noises. Howeverm it must be understood that Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can be the result of a number of medical conditions. Treating the underlying cause could bring about substantial relief from Tinnitus.
Causes of Tinnitus
Tinnitus is the result of the damages caused to the microscopic hairs that form a fringe on the periphery of the auditory cells. It is the movement of these hairs, according to the pressure variations caused due to an external noise, that prompts the auditory cells to send suitable electric pulses to the brain, which it interprets as sound. When the hairs get damaged, they might move randomly in a state of irritation, resulting in some uncoordinated charge leak to happen to the brain, which it again interprets as noise. But this time, there is no actual source making any noise, but still the person may feel like hearing something.
The damage to the microscopic hairs on the auditory cells can be due to a variety of reasons, the main ones being,
Damage to auditory cells owing to old age (presbycusis). This usually happens to people over 60 yrs of age.
Trauma to the ear. Continuous exposure loud noise can bring about such conditions.
Over use of antibiotics and medicines like Aspirin.
Any injury that affects the inner ear.
Otosclerosis or the stiffening of the middle ear bone can sometimes lead to Tinnitus.
Other than these external causes, Tinnitus can also be resulted from certain disorders happening in the system of blood vessels. These may include:
Atherosclerosis, caused due to the stiffening of blood vessels in the ear. As a result, the blood vessels fail to expand/contract slightly with each heartbeat and hence the blood flow becomes turbulent and the ear starts to pick up the heart beat. This condition may cause due to old age and cholesterol buildup over a period of time.
High BP
Hardening or narrowing of jugular vein or carotid artery may cause turbulent blood flow and hence the head noise.
A-V malformations, occurring at the connection of arteries and veins can be a cause of Tinnitus.
Finally, Tinnitus may be a symptom of a developing neck or head tumor.
Treatments
Generally speaking, there is no definite treatment for Tinnitus, especially if it is the result of old age or damage to the inner ear caused due to overexposure to sound. In such cases, the doctors, at the maximum, could advice the patient on how to reduce the noise or how to cope up with the reality. On the other hand, if the head noise is due to a wax formation or some vascular conditions, it can be fixed by treating the underlying cause. An expert otolaryngologist could help one in this regard. If any particular medication is causing Tinnitus, discontinuing the present drug or switching to a different one must be considered, but again with the advice of your doctor.
In closing, the Tinnitus resulting from narrowing of blood vessels sometimes may be Objective. That is, the head noise in this case may be audible to a doctor as well. Those noises perceivable by the patient only are classified as Subjective Tinnitus.
Jason Rickard is the owner of Your Favourite Shop – Offering White Noise and Relaxation CDs – Visit Hapa Health for more articles