Discover More About Tinnitus: More Causes, Risk Factors

Comes from the Latin word "tinnire" that means to ring like a bell, tinnitus has been to known to have been experienced by an estimate of 66 million people, in the United States alone. It is commonly known as ringing in the ears, and there are more that should be learned about tinnitus: more causes, risk factors, and prevention.

The most common cause of ringing ears is noise-induced cochlear damage. It has been reported that 90% of the tinnitus sufferers attribute the cause of the condition to repeated exposure to loud noises. Together with noise, the other known main causes are stress, sinus problems or allergy, and an inner ear disorder called Meniere's Disease. Other than these, there are more reasons why a person experiences tinnitus. More causes, risk factors - we also have to know these in order to decrease our chances of having the bothersome ringing noise and increase our chances of getting the right treatment.

Tinnitus can also be caused by prebyscusis or age-associated hearing loss and other ear disorders such as acoustic neuroma, external ear infection, earwax impaction, and middle ear effusion. Head injuries, including skull fracture, closed head injury, and whiplash injury, have also been reported as causes. Furthermore, thyroid disorder, hyperlipidemia, and vitamin B12 deficiency, all of which are metabolic disorders, can also result a person to experience ringing in the ears.

There are also certain factors that increases your chance of developing tinnitus. The risk factors include the long-term use of certain medications such as analgesics (aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), antibiotics (aminoglycosides, tetracycline), and chemotherapy drugs (bleomycin, cisplatin ). A high cholesterol and high fat diet increases your risk of developing noise-related hearing impairment as well as increases the stickiness of the blood, which reduces the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the ear. Thus, the food to avoid include brains, kidney, pate, visible fat on meat, egg yolks, margarine, lard, processed meats, cakes, and dried foods.

As your health can be seriously affected by tinnitus, more causes, risk factors, and symptoms should be prevented and lessened by avoiding very noisy places. If it cannot be helped to go to these places, be sure to protect your ears by wearing earplugs or earmuffs. Take foods that are rich in Vitamin A as it is necessary for auditory functioning. Also, be sure that your body has enough supply of Vitamin B12 as people who have insufficient Vitamin B12 are more likely to experience ringing ears. Exercise regularly, sleep well, and learn how to manage your stress.