A Ringing in Your Ears Might be a Symptom of …
Have you ever had a brief ringing in your ears? Almost everyone has this experience at one time or another. A ringing in the ears might be a symptom of sinus problems or allergies. Usually medications like antihistamines and antibiotics and are used to treat these conditions. These medications can make the mucous in the ear difficult for the body to drain leading to pressure build up, ear infections and ringing in the ears.
A ringing in the ears can also be a symptom of anxiety. There are many different symptoms of anxiety. People who suffer from anxiety or have panic attacks normally exhibit these symptoms in many different ways. Some of them may hear ringing in their ears as a symptom. Although, a ringing in your ears does not necessary mean you have anxiety.
A ringing in the ears can result from having higher than normal cholesterol levels, or a problem with one’s blood pressure. As cholesterol gathers in blood vessels and more specifically the blood vessels near the ear, the blood pressure can become more turbulent in its effort to force through some of the deposits. This can result in the noises you hear. If you are hearing a ringing in your ear, a simple test would be to check your cholesterol level.
Conditions like age-associated loss of hearing or presbycusis, temporomandibular joint disorder, muscle tension, thyroid disorder, and vitamin B12 deficiency could also produce symptoms like hearing a ringing in the ear.
Typically the ringing disappears within a few seconds but some people hear a constant ringing in their ears that almost never goes away. This condition is known as tinnitus.
Although the most common cause of ringing in the ear is tinnitus, there are several different forms of tinnitus. Atherosclerosis is a rare form of tinnitus. In most cases tinnitus produces a ringing in the ear that only the individual can hear. However, in the case of atherosclerosis, as it is indicative of some sort of structural problem within the individual, a doctor can hear the ringing in the ear as well when they place a stethoscope around the ear and the side of the patient’s neck.
Atherosclerosis is a more serious medical condition. This type of tinnitus cause more of a pulsing or a rushing sound which is the individuals own pulse that they can hear pulsing or rushing through the ear.
The other form of tinnitus, in which only the individual can hear the ringing, is more common but less understood. In addition, the noise hear within the ear is not limited to a ringing sound. It can be a whining, buzzing, popping or even a static sound. The sound can be in just one ear or both ears. The treatment for this condition varies with the individual. Some people have found alternative treatments for tinnitus. These individuals have turned to natural homeopathic treatments, acupuncture, hypnosis and even implants.
