Tinnitus

You could spend an eternity on tinnitus, or ringing sensation of the ears. It is a common problem that afflicts many people throughout the world, about 1 in 5 overall. It affects people of all ages, all races and both genders. It does not discriminate between the rich and the poor. About 85% of people who have tinnitus also have hearing loss.

Simply put, tinnitus is the perception of sound that is not generated outside the ear. It might sound as though it were a true sound, but in fact it is not. There are many different forms of tinnitus, some of which are not truly tinnitus if we use this definition (such as the sound of clicking in the ear that emanates from the jaw joint just in front of the ear).

The mechanism of tinnitus is generally the same. At the cellular level, there is damage to the cells that support the hearing function of the inner ear. Sometimes it is true cellular destruction or degeneration, sometimes it is due to an acquired structural problem with the inner ear. Either way, that inner ear cell is damaged to a point that the nerve it supplies with outside information transmits faulty data to the brain. That “auditory junk mail” is tinnitus.

This figure shows the Organ of Corti, the main hearing organ of the cochlea. The inner hair cells receive information and send that along the cochlear nerve. The sound wave hitting the ear drum travels to the inner ear, and depending on the pitch of the sound, stimulates very tone-specific inner hair cells. The cell is attached to relatively immobile tectorial membrane by hair-like projections from its top surface. The sound wave bumps the floor of the organ in such a way as to bend those hair-like projections at the top of the cells. That causes a reaction in the cell that is transmitted to the nerve and on to the various hearing centres of the brainstem and brain.

Recognizing Danger Signs

This article is NOT a substitute for real life medical advice. Do not dismiss your own symptoms based solely on the information provided on this site or on our applications. If you have concerns about the health of your ears, contact your doctor.

That being said, here are some danger signs whereby you should definitely seek medical advice and a hearing test:

a)Sudden hearing loss with ringing, particularly in one ear.
b)Ringing that occurs during chemotherapy or while taking a new medication.
c)Ringing in concert with dizziness and / or hearing loss.
d)Ringing that occurs with drainage from the ear or with ear pain.
e)Ringing with other neurologic symptoms (extremity weakness, slurred speech, visual difficulties).
f)Ringing after head or ear injury.
g)Persistent ringing after sudden or loud noise exposure.
h)Persistent one sided ringing.

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