Tinnitus (or ringing in the ear), commonly thought of as a hearing problem, is actually a nervous system disorder that has many causes. The common symptom that groups the various causes into one ailment is a persistent perception of a ringing sound. Mild cases manifest as background noise and are mostly just annoying and more severe cases can be loud enough to interfere with hearing normal sounds.

There are dozens of causes of Tinnitus, which is actually a group of symptoms rather than a specific disease. Here are a few of them grouped into categories.

Injuries

• A sudden loud bang or noise
• Injury to the head
• Drugs: aspirin overdose, loop diuretics, aminoglycosides, quinine

Illness

• Acoustic neuroma
• Hypertension and atherosclerosis
• Severe anemia and renal failure
• Palatal myoclonus
• Thyroid disorders
• Glomus jugulare tumours
• Lyme Disease
• Meniere’s disease
• Otosclerosis
• Arteriovenous fistulae and arterial bruits
• Stress and depression
• Suppurative otitis media (also chronic infection and serous OM)

Physical Disorders

• Excessive Ear wax
• Loss of Hearing
• Temporomandibular and cervical spine disorders
• Impacted wisdom teeth

Ringing in the ear is treated by treating the underlying cause when possible. Certain forms of Tinnitus are permanent and can lead to disability. Though the ear may be physically fine, tinnitus can be severe enough for a person to be classified as deaf. But unlike deafness, tinnitus causes the sensation of sound that can interfere with a person’s concentration and cause sleeplessness.

Modern technology offers some solutions to alleviate the effects. One way is to use a device that produces a frequency that is and exact inverse of the sound the person is hearing. The effect is to cancel out the ringing. The noise is still there, but it is less noticeable and allows the person to concentrate and sleep.

Though many of Tinnitus’s causes are unavoidable, one easy common cause can be controlled. By using hearing protection when one can’t absolutely avoid loud noise your chances of experiencing Tinnitus are greatly reduced. If you begin to experience ringing in the ear, seek a medical opinion quickly to catch an underlying disease early and avoid severe complications.

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