What Does it Mean When Your Ears Start Ringing?

Ringing in the ears, called tinnitus, is the condition of hearing noise in your head. It may be low or somewhat loud. Although no one else hears it, it is real. It presents most often in older whites males, but anyone, including children, can develop tinnitus. It may sound to the sufferer like a ringing, or any of a variety of other noises, such as a rushing, buzzing, humming, roaring or even a chirping sound.

What Causes It

• According to the Mayo Clinic, there are many causes--most commonly, age-related hearing loss and inner ear damage. "If the hairs inside your inner ear are bent or broken, they can 'leak' random electrical impulses to your brain, causing tinnitus." Other less common causes are injuries affecting the auditory nerves, chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, and using various medications.

Medical Treatments

• Patients obtain relief from medication-caused tinnitus when stopping the medication, but often no cure exists. The British Association of Otorhinolaryngologists says hypnosis and acupuncture help some people. Retraining counseling, designed to educate and support the sufferer, has also been quite effective, the association reports.

  Trials are underway in Europe for effective drugs to treat tinnitus, but the results are not yet conclusive.

Other Treatments

• To sleep, sufferers often use white noise generators, radios tuned between stations, or relaxation music set on a low volume.

  Some people claim that Ginko biloba helps, but no studies have been done to prove this.

Prevention

• Be careful with headphones.

  The Mayo Clinic suggests three preventative measures:

  Wear over-the-ear protection if you are exposed to loud noise on a regular basis or when performing noisy tasks such as firing range practice.

  Be careful with MP3 players and other headphone systems. Playing music loudly for extended periods of time can cause tinnitus, as can listening to music without headphones if the volume is always cranked up.

  Take care of your cardiovascular health to prevent tinnitus that is caused by vascular issues.

Where to Find Help

• An ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist can screen you for any serious conditions and may be able to pinpoint the cause and also advise you on treatment or strategy.

  You may be able to find a community support group, but there are also online support groups. One is the Tinnitus Support Message Board at tinnitussupport92262.yuku.com/forum/view/id/1.