- Ear Ringing: Causes and Treatments for That Annoying Sound

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Ear Ringing: Causes and Treatments for That Annoying Sound

Date Added: May 31, 2010 06:12:54 AM

Author: Cathy Paul

Category: Health

Ear ringing or tinnitus is something everyone experiences at one time or another in life. The sound that emanates from one’s ears could either be high-pitched or low, but does not come from any known external source.

The ear ringing sound can only be heard by the one who suffers from it. Ear ringing can be heard in both ears and can be of either long or short duration. It may be constant or infrequent. Those who suffer from tinnitus can hardly work, sleep or hear easily.

Ear ringing is not a disease or a medical condition but a symptom of something larger and more complex. For example, even a loud noisy environment like a machinery factory may be the cause of this ringing in ear. To avoid ear ringing and loss of hearing, it’s best to wear ear protection.

The most commonly experienced symptom of ear ringing is the noise that emanates from it—humming, buzzing, roaring, whistling, swishing, etc. Ear ringing is usually due to damage to the nerve endings in the inner ear.

You may first find these symptoms after a plane trip or after a bout of a heavy cold or allergy. This will result in a spell of dizziness and a feeling of plugged ears. Speak to your doctor to check if your ear ringing is due to kidney malfunction, allergies, and reaction to medication, blood pressure or diet.

Your doctor may refer you to an otolaryngologist or an ENT specialist or to an audiologist who will measure your hearing and check if you need hearing aid. Depending on the severity of your ear ringing problem, he will prescribe an individualized hearing aid to be placed in your ear. When it emits a signal, the ear ringing stops.

Apart from being on a doctor’s treatment, you can help yourself with simple, home remedies. For instance, you can turn down the volume of your music system, iPod, Walkman or TV.

If you’ve been to a rock concert where the music is really loud, you know that the intensity of the music stays with you even hours after the show is over. So, help yourself by turning down the music levels to avoid temporary hearing loss and ear ringing. In time, this will help raise your tolerance level for noise and restore normalcy.

Perhaps you work in the construction business and are exposed to loud noise while working. Such work and hobbies like shooting can harm hair cells, so if you must be exposed to ear ringing, wear protection for your ears.

Ear ringing often has its origins in high blood pressure. So, if you do experience ear ringing, use this to have a complete medical exam done. And as you know, high blood pressure is a basic factor for cardiovascular disease—something you should never ignore.

If you like your food salty, shake off the habit now as this could give you ear ringing if you have high blood pressure or an inner-ear problem like Meniere’s disease. When buying food, read the labels closely. Look for labels that say “sodium free,” which means that each serving of the food packet has less than five milligrams of sodium.

Cathy Paul is the author of this article on Tinnitus cure. Find more information about Sudden Hearing Loss here.