Causes of Tinnitus

Do you know the causes of tinnitus or ringing in the ears? If not, then it is high time that you know about them. Generally, they are medical conditions, thus making ear ringing not a disease of sorts, but a symptom of a particular medical condition.

The main causes of tinnitus are:

• Noise-induced cochlear damage, which happens when the tiny hairs in the cochlea get bent or broken due to sudden or long-term exposure to very loud noises;
  
  
• Stress, which causes damage to the hypothalamus, the result of which is that the chemicals needed by the body to function normally are not produced, further leading to the rise of unhealthy conditions, including ear ringing;
  
  
• Sinus problems or allergies, the treatments of which (antibiotics or antihistamines) cause the thickening of the mucous in the middle ear, resulting to ear infections and the presence of the unwanted sound; and
  
  
• Meniere's Disease, a chronic inner ear disorder, the notable symptoms of which include vertigo, nausea, and ringing in the ears.

• presbycusis or age-associated loss of hearing
  
• earwax impaction
  
• acoustic neuroma
  
• head injuries (e.g. skull fracture, closed head injury, whiplash injury)
  
• thyroid disorder
  
• hyperlipidemia
  
• vitamin B12 deficiency
  
• hypertonia or muscle tension

It is recommended that you go to a physician when you experience the unwanted sound and have the medical condition that you may be suffering from diagnosed. The earlier the root cause is determined, the earlier you get to take the necessary steps to avoid the classic tinnitus cycle.

The cycle takes its course when falling asleep at night becomes a problem because of the ringing noise. As you might have known, lack of sleep has negative effects. The following day, you easily get exhausted and stressed, thus increasing the level of the unwanted sound.

You should then get a treatment that focuses on the root cause and not just its symptoms. Good examples are homeopathic remedies. There are other remedies, though, that can help you avoid getting seriously affected by the condition. For example, if you find it hard to fall asleep at night, you may use maskers in the form of white noise MP3s and CDs. Or if you tend to easily get stressed, try to engage in stress management programs like counseling.

If we take a look at some of the causes of tinnitus, some of them can actually be prevented, especially noise-induced cochlear damage, so let us do what we can to prevent it. As the cliché goes, prevention is better than cure.