What is That Ringing in My Ears

Ringing in your ears is a common complaint, everyone from time to time suffers a few moments of ringing in their ears. However, that is all it should be, a few moments and no more. Sometimes though ringing in your ears may last a longer period of time.

Perhaps the day after you returned from a loud concert, you have an unexplained ringing sound in your ears that won’t go away. Or maybe after you were exposed to a sudden loud noise, a gun shot, an explosion, or fireworks. 

Perhaps that ringing in your ears started when you took aspirin, antibiotics or NSAIDs like Advil or Ibuprofen. These drugs are also known to cause temorary ringing in your ears. 

 

Warnings

These are all warnings that you have exposed your hearing to damaging levels of sound. They are normally temporary situations and they fade, however some times ringing doesn't fade. It is a permenant event that is ever present. In cases like this, it is called Tinnitus. It might not even a ringing, but more of a buzzing, or hissing, or humming, or whistling.  It can even sound like a dull roar. It’s often irritating, and you can’t help but ask yourself: why is there ringing in my ears?

Many people experience ringing in the ears from time to time

The annoying sounds you’re hearing a symptom of tinnitus. The good news is, it’s rarely a sign of a deeper medical problem, and it may not mean that you’re going deaf. For many people tinnitus is just a temporary problem. The ringing in their ears will go away a few days after the concert, or as soon as they stop taking a specific medication.  Interestingly enough, cutting down on caffeine, alcohol, smoking and stress might help too.

For others though none of these things will help and they suffer from chronic tinnitus. Tinnitus widespread among musicians, current and former members of the military and police forces, and people over 50.  Up to 15% of the world’s population suffers from tinnitus.

Why is there ringing in my ears?

In at least 90% of cases Tinnitus is directly connected to hearing loss. It appears that when you’ve experienced mild to severe hearing loss, your brain is less active in processing the sounds of the world.  It seems to focus on other things that begin generating a perception of sound where there is none.

The ringing, buzzing, hissing, or humming you are hearing is the sound of your own brain boosting its activity to make up for the loss of external sound.

What should I do about that ringing in my ears?

If your tinnitus doesn’t go away after a few days, see a hearing specialist. We can put together a program to help you, which may involve anything from relaxation techniques to a special programs of music tones that will help distract and retrain your brain.

No Cure, Just Relief

Don’t fall for scams that promise a cure for tinnitus in pill form or through a special herb or diet.  There is no known medical cure for tinnitus. While there is some promising research into drug therapy, there is no drug or compound on the market that will provide relief just yet.

A hearing aid may provide relief from tinnitus

If your tinnitus is associated with hearing loss, a hearing aid can help you better enjoy the world around you and deliver relief from the effects of tinnitus. Hearing aids are no longer the large ugly devices you might be familiar with from years ago. Most are tiny and either fit inside your ear or closely behind it.  You can even get hearing aids in bright colors and accessorize them as ‘wearable tech.’

We can help relieve that ringing in your ears and help you hear conversations, music and all the other good things in the world even better.

Read: 6 Signs you should invest in hearing aids

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