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Incidence
> Symptoms
> Causes
Tinnitus
Tinnitus, or ringing in the
ears, is the sensation of hearing ringing, buzzing, hissing,
chirping, whistling or other sounds. The noise can be
intermittent or continuous, and can vary in loudness. It is
often worse when background noise is low, so you may be most
aware of it at night when you're trying to fall asleep in a
quiet room. In rare cases, the sound beats in sync with your
heart.
Incidence
Tinnitus is very common,
affecting an estimated 50 million adults in the United
States. For most people the condition is merely an
annoyance. In severe cases, however, tinnitus can cause
people to have difficulty concentrating and sleeping. It may
eventually interfere with work and personal relationships,
resulting in psychological distress. About 12 million people
seek medical help for severe tinnitus every year.
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Symptoms
Symptoms include a noise in
the ears, such as ringing, roaring, buzzing, hissing or
whistling; the noise may be intermittent or continuous.
Tinnitus is also sometimes marked by hearing loss. Although
tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss, it does not
cause the loss; nor does a hearing loss cause tinnitus. In
fact, some people with tinnitus experience no difficulty
hearing, and in a few cases they even become so acutely
sensitive to sound that they must take steps to muffle or
mask external noises.
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Causes
A wide variety of conditions
and illnesses can lead to tinnitus. Blockages of the ear due
to a buildup of wax, an infection, or rarely, a tumor of the
auditory nerve can cause the unwanted sounds, as can a
perforated eardrum. But perhaps the most common source of
chronic tinnitus is prolonged exposure to loud sounds. The
noise causes permanent damage to the sound-sensitive cells
of the cochlea, a spiral-shaped organ in the inner ear.
Carpenters, pilots, rock musicians and street-repair workers
are among those whose jobs put them at risk, as are people
who work with chain saws, guns or other loud devices or who
repeatedly listen to loud music. A single exposure to a
sudden extremely loud noise can also cause tinnitus.
Certain drugs — most
notably aspirin, several types of antibiotics and quinine
medications — can contribute to the condition as well. In
fact, tinnitus is cited as a potential side effect for about
200 prescription and nonprescription drugs.
The natural process of aging
can result in a deterioration of the cochlea or other parts
of the ear and lead to tinnitus. Tinnitus is also associated
with Meniere's disease, a disorder of the inner ear, and
otosclerosis, a degenerative disease of the small bones in
the middle ear. Other medical conditions that can cause
ringing in the ears include high blood pressure, allergies,
anemia and an underactive thyroid. Tinnitus can also be a
symptom of a disorder of the neck or jaw, such as
temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome.
For reasons not yet entirely clear to researchers, stress
seems to worsen tinnitus.
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Reprinted with
permission from Onhealth.com. |
