Ringing In The Ears: What It Is And Its Most Common Causes

[LoShiNi]

If you hear noise in your head, but there is no external source of it, it means you’re experiencing tinnitus. People who have tinnitus (commonly called ‘ringing in the ears’) often describe the sound they hear in their head as ringing or buzzing, but it can also sound like humming, hissing, whistling, roaring, chirping or other sounds. Tinnitus can be constant or intermittent, loud or soft, high-pitched or low-pitched.

Tinnitus can appear as a side effect of many different medications (it’s listed as a side effect of more than 200 various drugs), or it can be a symptom of a medical condition. Tinnitus is also often associated with hearing loss. Sometimes, if the underlying cause is established, tinnitus usually goes away with treatment of the cause.

There is no cure for tinnitus, but there’s a number of ways to help you make it less noticeable. If this problem is bothering you, contact your doctor – treatments exist to limits its impact on the quality of your life.

Medications that may cause tinnitus include:


- large doses of aspirin and other NSAIDs;

- some diuretic medications;

- antimalarial drugs, e.g. chloroquine;

- certain antibiotics;

- some cancer medications.

Tinnitus can also be caused by a problem somewhere in your auditory system or by various health conditions:

- noise-induced hearing loss;

- age-related hearing loss;

- blockage of the ear canal with earwax;

- eardrum perforation;

- otosclerosis;

- ear or sinus infections;

- cardiovascular diseases;

- Meniere’s disease;

- problems with the thyroid gland;

- high blood pressure;

- head or neck trauma;

- temporomandibular joint disorders;

- brain tumors.

Tinnitus risk factors include:

- old age;

- being male – tinnitus is more common in men than in women;

- smoking;

- having a health condition (listed above);

- working in noisy environments, e.g. working in construction or playing in an orchestra.

You can prevent tinnitus from getting worse by moving away from sources of loud sound and wearing ear protection, e.g. earplugs or earmuffs.