Tinnitus is the perception of ringing, buzzing, hissing, or other sounds without an external source and is a symptom rather than a disease. It can be caused by a wide range of factors, including hearing loss, noise exposure, medications, inner ear disorders, and neurological conditions. Identifying the underlying cause is essential for effective management and treatment.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no sources of the sound exist. It typically manifests as a ringing, buzzing, hissing or even clicking sound and is not a disease, but rather a symptom of something else. Some of the causes of tinnitus are well-known, while others remain mysterious. In this guide, the team of auditory experts at Harley Street AVM examine what causes tinnitus.
What Causes Tinnitus? Possible Explanations
As we said, the cause of a person’s tinnitus may remain elusive, but in many cases, the cause can be pinned down to some specific event or condition, including:
Exposure to a sudden extreme sound
People close to sudden explosions, like soldiers, often end up with tinnitus. Being close to a firearm when it is discharged can also produce tinnitus. Pneumatic drills can produce tinnitus, as can exposure to loud concert music. While tinnitus in such cases may eventually recede, it may also be permanent.
Hearing loss
Hearing loss is one of the commonest causes of tinnitus. Tinnitus may be the first cry for help from your ears and standard hearing tests may not identify subtle and early inner ear hearing loss. You may require more detailed specialist tests and investigations. If you have early onset hearing loss, or if your hearing loss is worse on one ear compared to the other, then further investigation such as MRI scan will be required.
Presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss, is another common cause of tinnitus. Time is unforgiving, and as people age, they often experience a degradation in the components of the inner ear, resulting in tinnitus. This type of tinnitus may slowly get worse over time.
Medications
Certain medications are known to be risk factors for tinnitus. These include antibiotics, diuretics, excessive amounts of aspirin and chemotherapy drugs. Whether or not tinnitus caused by medication will go away depends on the type of drug and the amount taken.
Meniere’s and other conditions
Meniere’s disease affects the inner ear and can cause tinnitus. Disorders of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) can also produce tinnitus, as can high blood pressure.
Inner ear or brain tumours
Tinnitus maybe the first manifestation of neurological conditions, such as MS. Tumours of the brain or inner ear such as acoustic neuroma, may also cause tinnitus.
Earwax buildup
Perhaps the simplest and least traumatic cause of tinnitus is simple earwax buildup. By blocking the ear canal, earwax can cause changes in pressure in the inner ear, resulting in tinnitus. A simple ear cleaning can often resolve the issue.
Not everyone experiences tinnitus in the same way. Below are some of the most common types of tinnitus and how they manifest.
Subjective tinnitus
This is by far the most common type of tinnitus. Subjective tinnitus can only be heard by the affected person and is most often caused by overexposure to loud noises. Subjective tinnitus typically manifests as a high-pitched ringing that may (or may not) subside over weeks or months. This can be due to conditions such as Meniere’s disease. A vestibular specialist from Harley St AVM can diagnose Meniere’s and recommend treatment.
Neurological tinnitus
This type of tinnitus is usually caused by a disorder such as brain tumours or tumours of the inner ear.
Objective tinnitus
This type of tinnitus is caused by involuntary muscle contractions or vascular abnormalities in the ear. This is the only kind of tinnitus that may be heard by outsiders.
Pulsatile tinnitus
This is a rhythmic type of tinnitus that typically aligns with the beating of the heart. It is believed to be caused by a change of blood flow within the blood vessels near the ear. Hence vascular abnormalities can present with pulsatile tinnitus and early assessment and investigation by our tinnitus specialists is required.
Low-frequency tinnitus
With low-frequency tinnitus the afflicted person is often unsure whether the sound they are hearing is coming from the outside world or inside their body. What they hear is a persistent humming, rumbling or murmuring sound that can be quite disconcerting.
If You Experience Tinnitus Contact Harley Street AVM
If you are experiencing tinnitus, make an appointment to see an audiologist at Harley Street AVM by calling 020 3480 9630.
