Tinnitus Facts
Tinnitus Signs and Symptoms
Tinnitus is one of the most elusive
conditions that health care professionals face. It is an auditory perception
not directly produced externally.
It is commonly described as a hissing, roaring, ringing or whooshing
sound in one or both ears, called tinnitus aurium, or in the head, called
tinnitus cranii.
The sound ranges from high to low pitch and can be a single tone,
multi-tonal, or noise-like, having no tonal quality. Tinnitus may be constant,
pulsing or intermittent. It may begin suddenly or progress gradually.
Tinnitus can be broadly classified into two categories: objective
and subjective.
Objective Tinnitus
This form is audible to an observer either with a stethoscope or
simply by listening in close proximity to the ear. Objective tinnitus accounts
for less than 5 percent of overall tinnitus cases and is often associated with
vascular or muscular disorders. The tinnitus is frequently described as
pulsatile, or synchronous with the patient's heartbeat. In many instances, the
cause of objective tinnitus can be determined and treatment, either medical or
surgical, may be prescribed.
Subjective Tinnitus
This form is audible only to the patient and is much more common,
accounting for 95 percent of tinnitus cases. Subjective tinnitus is a symptom
that is associated with practically every known ear disorder and is reported to
be present in over 80 percent of individuals with sensorineural hearing loss,
which is caused by nerve and/or hair cell damage.
Because tinnitus, like pain, is subjective, two individuals may
demonstrate identical tinnitus loudness and pitch matches yet be affected in
significantly different ways. The severity of the tinnitus is largely a
function of the individual's reaction to the condition. That said, many
tinnitus sufferers:
- Have difficulty sleeping or
concentrating
- Feel depressed or anxious
- Report additional problems at
work or at home that may contribute to the distress caused by tinnitus
- Describe a correlation of
tinnitus perception with stress
- It is often difficult to
determine whether a patient's emotional state pre-existed, or is a result of
the tinnitus.
Causes
Although the exact mechanism underlying tinnitus is unknown, it is
likely that there are many related factors. Tinnitus usually, but not always,
has to do with an abnormality of the hearing or neural system.
There are a number of causes linked with tinnitus including:
- Disorders in the outer ear,
such as ear wax, a hair touching the eardrum, a foreign body or a perforated
eardrum
- Disorders in the middle ear,
such as negative pressure from eustachian tube dysfunction, fluid, infection,
otosclerosis, allergies or benign tumors
- Disorders in the inner ear, such
as sensorineural hearing loss due to noise exposure, aging, inner ear infection
or Meniere's disease often accompanied by hearing loss and dizziness
Tinnitus also can temporarily result from certain medications,
such as:
- Anti-inflammatories such as
aspirin, ibuprofen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and quinine
- Certain antibiotics and
chemotherapeutic agents
Other causes include:
- Systemic disorders such as
high or low blood pressure, anemia, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, glucose
metabolism abnormalities, vascular disorders, growth on jugular vein, acoustic
tumors and head or neck aneurysms
- Non-auditory disorders such
as trauma to the head or neck, temporomandibular (jaw joint) disorders and neck
misalignment
Current research suggests that even though tinnitus may initially
be caused by an injury to the ear, ultimately an auditory pattern is
established in the brain. Therefore, many treatment approaches are directed at
the brain, not the ear.
Although the majority of tinnitus sufferers also have hearing
loss, the presence of tinnitus does not indicate that one is losing hearing.
There is a video about tinnitus below:Click Here to learn more!
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