Tinnitus: Ringing in the Ears

• Fifty million adults are affected by this condition.
• Tinnitus affects approximately 10%-15% of all adults.
• 1% of adults have tinnitus severe enough to cause disturbance in their daily life.
• Men experience this condition more often than women

There are 2 types of tinnitus: subjective tinnitus, the most common type, and objective tinnitus, which is much rarer.

• Subjective Tinnitus: this type of tinnitus can only be heard by the person who experiences it and can be either temporary or chronic. The sensation of sound may be perceived in one ear, both ears, or just outside the head. The sound may always be the same, or it could be multiple sounds that are always changing. This is the most common type of tinnitus.
  
  
• Objective Tinnitus: this type of tinnitus is heard not only by the person experiencing it, but it can also be detected by someone else. It is commonly heard as a regular pulsing noise, in rhythm with the person’s blood flow or pulse near the ear tissue.

The volume or loudness is very individual and can range from very quiet to disturbingly loud. Although some people say that it comes and goes or as a tone that changes pitch through the day. For most it is a steady, unchanging noise every waking minute.It’s not an illness or a disease in itself, but it is often a symptom of a problem with the ear or the hearing pathways to the brain. Usually, it occurs when the inner ear is damaged or impaired in some way. For those experiencing this condition, it is important to remember that tinnitus itself is a symptom of a problem rather than the problem itself, just as a headache can be a symptom of many different illnesses.

• Does the ringing affect one or both ears?
• Is the sound constant or sporadic?
• What is the perceived pitch and volume?
• Does the ringing affect daily activities like sleep or work?
• Are there are any external factors, such as drinking caffeinated beverages, that make the sound seem worse?

To effectively treat or manage this condition, identifying the underlying cause is the first step. Some causes, such as excess earwax buildup, hypertension and stress, anemia, or overconsumption of caffeine or cigarettes, can be treated or eliminated relatively easily.

Tinnitus is not a disease itself or a cause of hearing loss. It is a symptom that something is wrong somewhere in the auditory system, which can include the cochlea of the inner ear, the auditory nerve and the areas of the brain that process sound. In about 90% of cases, it accompanies hearing loss and an individual can have both hearing loss and tinnitus from noise damage. However the two do not always occur together. It is possible to have no measurable hearing loss but suffer from the condition.