The Facts of Tinnitus
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the perception of sound in one or both ears or in the head when no external sound is present. It is often referred to as “ringing in the ears,” although some people hear various other type of sounds.
Tinnitus has two pronunciations: tin-NIGHT-us or TIN-it-us. Both are correct. The word comes from Latin and means “to tinkle or to ring like a bell. Approximately 17% of the world population have experience tinnitus.
What causes tinnitus?
Hearing loss: Which can be caused by factors such as aging or exposure to loud noise, is strongly associated with tinnitus. Coincidentally, up to 80 percent of all tinnitus patients have some level of hearing loss.
- Excessive noise/music exposure – Coincidentally, up to 90 percent of all tinnitus patients have some level of hearing loss.
- Wax build-up in the ear canal.
- Certain medications – Some medications are ototoxic – that is, the medications are toxic to the ear.
- Ear or sinus infections.
- Jaw misalignment
- Cardiovascular disease – Approximately 3% of tinnitus patients experience pulsatile tinnitus. Pulsatile tinnitus can indicate the presence of a vascular condition.
- Certain types of tumors – Very rarely, people have a benign and slow growing tumor on their auditory, vestibular, or facial nevers.
- Head and neck trauma