Tinnitus is when you experience ringing or other noises in one or both of your ears. The noise you hear when you have tinnitus isn’t caused by an external sound, and other people usually can’t hear it. Tinnitus is a common problem. It affects about 15% to 20% of people and is especially common in older adults.
Tinnitus is usually caused by an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, an ear injury or a problem with the circulatory system.
Symptoms
Tinnitus is most often described as a ringing in the ears, even though no external sound is present. However, tinnitus can also cause other types of phantom noises in your ears, including:
- Buzzing
- Clicking
- Hissing
- Humming
- Ringing
- Roaring
Most people who have tinnitus have subjective tinnitus, or tinnitus that only you can hear. The noises of tinnitus may vary in pitch from a low roar to a high squeal, and you may hear it in one or both ears. In some cases, the sound can be so loud it interferes with your ability to concentrate or hear external sound. Tinnitus may be present all the time, or it may come and go.
Common causes of tinnitus
In many people, tinnitus is caused by one of the following:
- Hearing loss. There are tiny, delicate hair cells in your inner ear (cochlea) that move when your ear receives sound waves. This movement triggers electrical signals along the nerve from your ear to your brain (auditory nerve). Your brain interprets these signals as sound.
- Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL): This is the most common type of age-related hearing loss. More than 80% of people with SNHL also experience tinnitus, according to UCSF Health. When a person has hearing loss, damaged cells in the cochlea often send random signals to the brain, which processes these signals as sound, according to the Mayo Clinic.
- Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) a meta-analysis of 222 million American adults found that people frequently exposed to loud noise in their jobs were more likely to have tinnitus than people without noise exposure.
- If the hairs inside your inner ear are bent or broken — this happens as you age or when you are regularly exposed to loud sounds — they can “leak” random electrical impulses to your brain, causing tinnitus.
- Ear infection or ear canal blockage. Your ear canals can become blocked with a buildup of fluid (ear infection), earwax, dirt or other foreign materials. A blockage can change the pressure in your ear, causing tinnitus.
- Head or neck injuries. Head or neck trauma can affect the inner ear, hearing nerves or brain function linked to hearing. Such injuries usually cause tinnitus in only one ear.
- Medications. A number of medications may cause or worsen tinnitus. Generally, the higher the dose of these medications, the worse tinnitus becomes. Often the unwanted noise disappears when you stop using these drugs.
Medications known to cause tinnitus include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and certain antibiotics, cancer drugs, water pills (diuretics), antimalarial drugs and antidepressants.
Risk Factors
Anyone can experience tinnitus, but these factors may increase your risk:
- Loud noise exposure. Loud noises, such as those from heavy equipment, chain saws and firearms, are common sources of noise-related hearing loss. Portable music devices, such as MP3 players, also can cause noise-related hearing loss if played loudly for long periods. People who work in noisy environments — such as factory and construction workers, musicians, and soldiers — are particularly at risk.
- Age. As you age, the number of functioning nerve fibers in your ears declines, possibly causing hearing problems often associated with tinnitus.
- Sex. Men are more likely to experience tinnitus.
- Tobacco and alcohol use. Smokers have a higher risk of developing tinnitus. Drinking alcohol also increases the risk of tinnitus.
- Certain health problems. Obesity, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure, and a history of arthritis or head injury all increase your risk of tinnitus.
Most people experience bilateral tinnitus, which affects both ears. This is different from unilateral tinnitus, in which only one ear is affected.
Some people experience tinnitus only for a short time, like after attending a large music event or working near loud equipment. Symptoms may subside a few hours later. But tinnitus can also persist for months or years, and it may be constant or occasional. Many people notice symptoms more at bedtime when they aren’t hearing as many other sounds.
How can hearing aids help tinnitus?
Patients find that wearing hearing aids provides significant relief from tinnitus.
One reason for this is that when your brain takes in more sounds with the amplification that hearing aids provide, you may not focus as much on the tinnitus sounds.
Hearing aids can also lower your stress levels by reducing the amount of effort needed to hear and understand sounds, especially speech. This, in turn, can help alleviate tinnitus, since stress can worsen tinnitus symptoms.
And some hearing aids come with tinnitus relief apps to help lessen your symptoms with relaxing tones, distracting sounds, and/or customizable programming capabilities to mask the exact frequencies at which you’re hearing the tinnitus sounds.
How to choose the right hearing aid for tinnitus relief
Our audiologist are hearing professionals and can help guide you to a prescription hearing device that best meets your needs for hearing and tinnitus management.
