3 Common Causes of Tinnitus | Advanced ENT & Allergy

Tinnitus is experienced as a ringing, buzzing, whooshing or similar sound in your ear or ears. It’s quite common. Roughly 25 million American adults have experienced tinnitus lasting at least five minutes in the past year.

Tinnitus can be a symptom of many different conditions. While the cause cannot always be identified, let’s look at three common triggers.

Hearing Loss

A woman experiencing ear and hearing discomfort.

Research has indicated that up to 90% of people who suffer from tinnitus also have hearing loss. One of the main reasons people experience hearing loss is because the hair cells of their inner ear become permanently damaged. This can be caused by factors such as aging, exposure to loud noise or certain genetic conditions. Damaged hair cells can also cause a person to experience tinnitus, which is why it’s common to suffer from both conditions.

Blockage in the Ear

Any sort of blockage can change the pressure in your ear, leading to tinnitus. Common causes of ear blockage may include:

Fluid buildup from an ear infection
Earwax
Dirt and other debris
Congestion from a virus or allergies
A foreign object stuck in the ear canal

Head & Neck Injuries

Trauma to the head or neck can cause tinnitus by causing damage to several different areas including the inner ear as well as nerves or parts of the brain associated with hearing. This damage can trigger tinnitus as well.

Tinnitus Can Affect Quality of Life

Some people experience only experience tinnitus infrequently and are not too bothered by their symptoms. However, people with chronic tinnitus or moderate to severe symptoms may experience a decrease in quality of life.

Tinnitus can increase feelings of anxiety and depression, interfere with sleep and make it difficult to function well at work or enjoy a night with friends.

If tinnitus symptoms are making it difficult to go about your daily life, it’s important to seek medical help. You may need to treat the underlying condition causing your symptoms to experience relief.

However, even if one cannot be identified, there are ways to manage tinnitus, which may include:

Acoustic therapy
Tinnitus retraining therapy
Hearing aids
Counseling and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

If you would like more information or wish to schedule an appointment to address your tinnitus symptoms, contact the experts at Advanced ENT & Allergy today.