What is Tinnitus (Ringing/noise in the ears)?
Tinnitus is a ringing, swishing, or other type of noise that seems to originate in the ear or head. In many cases it is not a serious problem, but rather a nuisance that eventually resolves.
It is not a single disease, but a symptom of an underlying condition. Nearly 36 million Americans suffer from this disorder. In almost all cases, only the patient can hear the noise.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus can arise in any of the four sections of the ear: the outer ear, the middle ear, the inner ear, and the brain. Some tinnitus or head noise is normal. If one goes into a sound proof booth and normal outside noise is diminished, one becomes aware of these normal sounds. We are usually not aware of these normal body sounds, because outside noise masks them. Anything, such as wax or a foreign body in the external ear, that blocks these background sounds will cause us to be more aware of our own head sounds. Fluid, infection, or disease of the middle ear bones or ear drum (tympanic membrane) can also cause tinnitus.
One of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. Advancing age is generally accompanied by a certain amount of hearing nerve impairment, and consequently tinnitus.
Treatment
Treatment of tinnitus depends on the cause.
If the ringing in your ears is due to age-related hearing loss or damage to your ears by exposure to excessive noise, no treatment can reduce the noise. Treatment consists mostly of managing the problem. Your doctor can discuss with you steps you can take every day to reduce the severity of the noise or to better cope with the noise.
If the ringing in your ears is due to another health condition, your doctor may be able to take steps that could reduce the noise, such as removing impacted earwax. Tinnitus resulting from a vascular condition often can be corrected by fixing the underlying problem. If a medication you’re taking appears to be the cause of tinnitus, your doctor may recommend discontinuing the drug or switching to a different medication.
Varying success for medications
Many medications have been tried to relieve tinnitus with varying degrees of success. Tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline, have been used with some success, but these medications have troublesome side effects, such as dry mouth, blurred vision and constipation.
Two recent clinical trials found that the migraine medications gabapentin (Neurontin) and acamprosate (Campral), a drug used to treat alcoholism, are effective in relieving tinnitus for some people.
Treatments with limited results
Some other treatments that have been tried, but which have had inconsistent results, are:
Acupuncture
Hypnosis
The herb ginkgo
Cochlear implant, an electronic hearing device
Electrical stimulation
Medications, such as benzodiazepines (nervous system depressants) and baclofen (a muscle relaxant)
Hyperbaric oxygen chamber, a therapy to get a high level of oxygen in your blood
Zinc
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