Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease, and it has a variety of causes that may arise anywhere in the hearing mechanism. It begins in the ear with the tympanic membrane and the cochlea, where the sound is transmitted and transformed into electrical energy for the brain to perceive.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Tinnitus is the sound of ringing, roaring, buzzing, hissing, or clicking inside the head/ear. The sounds may come and go. Or they may be ongoing. The sound may occur in one or both ears and vary in pitch.
Causes
Tinnitus may result from a variety of causes, for example:
- Damage to the nerve endings in the inner ear.
- Stiffening of bones in the middle ear.
- Jaw misalignment.
- Exposure to loud noises.
- Allergy.
- High or low blood pressure.
- Tumor.
- Diabetes.
- Thyroid problems.
- Head or neck injury.
- Reaction to certain medications.
- Wax buildup.
Here some causes of tinnitus:
Blood flow and/or tumors: Throbbing Tinnitus (pulsatile) may be due to blood flow through arteries and veins adjacent to the ear, as well as vascular tumors, meaning that they have increased blood flow within them.
Muscle spasms: Tinnitus that is described as clicking may be due to abnormalities that cause the muscle in the roof of the mouth (palate) to go into spasm. This causes the Eustachian tube, which helps equalize pressure in the ears, to repeatedly open and close. Multiple sclerosis and other neurologic diseases that are associated with muscle spasms may also be a cause of tinnitus, as they may lead to spasms of certain muscles in the middle ear that can cause repetitive clicking.
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) abnormalities may cause a repeated clicking sound in the ear.
Damage to the vestibulocochlear nerve: Damage to the vestibulocochlear nerve responsible for transmitting sound from the ear to the brain may cause tinnitus. Causes may include drug toxicity or a tumor (for example, acoustic neuroma).
Meniere’s disease, which is associated with hearing loss and vertigo, may also cause tinnitus.
Aging: As people age, their hearing may decrease and there can be associated tinnitus.
Otosclerosis: Otosclerosis, which is caused by abnormal bone growth in the middle ear, can sometimes cause tinnitus.
Trauma may also be a cause of tinnitus and hearing loss. This includes barotrauma, whereby air pressure changes can damage ear function. Examples of barotrauma include pressure changes from scuba diving or changes in air pressure when flying.
Symptoms of tinnitus
Patients with tinnitus will often complain of hearing these sounds in their head:
- Ringing.
- Roaring.
- Buzzing.
- Hissing.
- Clicking.
- Stress due to fear of tinnitus.
- Ear pain.
- Anxiety
- Depression.
- Difficulty sleeping or insomnia.
- Difficulty concentrating.
- Decreased hearing.
Persistent unexplained tinnitus is evaluated with a hearing test (audiogram). Measures can be taken to lessen the intensity of tinnitus.
Diagnosis
The patient’s history and description of symptoms are the keys to determining what might be causing tinnitus.
Ask your patient regarding the quality of the abnormal sound, and whether it is constantly present or whether it comes and goes. Other questions may include the following:
- Does it involve one or both ears?
- Does the sound pulsate, or does it sound like a rush or flow?
- Does it click?
- Has there been recurrent exposure to loud noises or sounds at work, at home, or play?
- Is there any associated with decreased hearing or hearing loss?
- Does the person feel a sensation of spinning (vertigo)?
Diagnosis of associated with include the following:
- Medications: Ask your patient about medications including over-the-counter (OTC) and supplements to review since tinnitus may be a side effect of certain allopathic medications.
- Physical exam: Physical examination will focus on the head and neck, and especially the ears, including the auditory canals and tympanic membranes. Since the sense of hearing is conducted through one of the cranial nerves (the short nerves that lead directly from the brain to the face, head, and neck), a careful neurologic exam also may be performed. Weakness or numbness in the face, mouth, and neck may be associated with a tumor or other structural abnormality pressing on a nerve. The healthcare professional may listen to the flow in the carotid arteries in the neck for an abnormal sound (bruit) since carotid artery stenosis can transmit a sound to the ear that may cause tinnitus.
- Hearing test: An audiogram or hearing test may be performed to look for associated hearing loss in one or both ears.
- Imaging: Depending upon the suspected underlying cause of tinnitus, radiology tests may be performed to image the head and neck, including the structures of the ear. These imaging tests may include CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds.
- Referral to a specialist: Consultation with the appropriate specialist may be needed, both for diagnosis and treatment.
Allopathic treatments for tinnitus
Tinnitus is a common complaint especially of soldiers.
Tinnitus may last for weeks or months and then resolve spontaneously. For some people, tinnitus may last for years.
For those whose tinnitus is caused by an adverse or toxic reaction to an allopathic medication, stopping the drug may allow the hearing mechanism to recover; however, sometimes the adverse effects of allopathic medications on hearing may be permanent.
Electrical stimulation and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation are treatment considerations available for certain individuals with tinnitus.
Medications used to treat tinnitus may include the following:
- Benzodiazepine medications, including alprazolam, may help suppress nerve function and decrease tinnitus symptoms.
- Corticosteroid injections into the middle ear may decrease inflammation in certain cases of tinnitus.
- Antidepressant medications may decrease the intensity of tinnitus or resolve the noise altogether. Moreover, antidepressants may also help with depression that is sometimes associated with the presence of persistent and chronic tinnitus.
- Prostaglandin analogues, such as misoprostol, may be of some help in some people with tinnitus.
Surgery to cure tinnitus
Surgery may be a cure for certain people who have:
-
- Meniere’s disease (characterized by tinnitus, vertigo, and decreased hearing).
- Tinnitus due to glomus tumors.
- Acoustic neuromas.
- Sigmoid sinus diverticulum or arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).
Homeopathic treatment for tinnitus
Treating tinnitus Homeopathically is a common and easy task, there are too many Homeopathic medicines for tinnitus; here are few of them:
Tabacum
Shootings in ears, especially in the open air, and when listening to music. Hyperesthesia to music and loud talking. Jerking tearing in ear, and in front of it externally. Burning heat and redness of the ears. Hard reddish swelling behind ear, with shootings. Ringing; roaring; rushing; humming in ears. Tinnitus and vertigo. Fluttering in ear both heard and felt.
Natrum Salicylicum
Constant noises in ears, deafness; direct and perosseous. Depression. Ears, noises in. Fever. Menier’s disease. Noises in the head. Edema. Periostitis. Rheumatism. Stammering. Strabismus divergence.
Salicylicum Acidum
Hearing diminished. Nervous deafness. Deafness with noises (roaring) in ears. Roaring in ears and difficult hearing; hears music; swarm of bees or buzzing of flies; rush of blood to head, excited mood. Tinnitus dependent on hyperemia. Auditory nerve vertigo (Manire’s disease); a troublesome nausea accompanying the head symptoms.
Carbo Vegetabilis
Otalgia in the evening. In the evening, redness and heat of the external ear. Want of cerumen. Flow of fetid pus from the inner ear. Obstruction of the ears. Pulsations in the ears. Tingling and buzzing in the ears. Swelling of the parotids.
China officianalis`
Ringing in ears. External ear sensitive to touch. Hearing sensitive to noise. Lobules red and swollen.
Coffea Cruda
Apoplexy. Over-sensitiveness. Excessive sensibility of hearing. Aural neuralgia. Excited imagination. Convulsions. Diarrhea. Ecstasy. Excitement. Semi-lateral cephalalgia. Hyperesthesia. Hysteria. Intermittent. Joy, ill-effects of. Labour pains. Metrorrhagia. Neuralgia. Over-sensitiveness. Sciatica. Shock. Sleeplessness. Hardness of hearing, with buzzing in the ears. Feels and hears a cracking, when sitting quietly.
Cimicifuga
People likely to respond to this remedy are very sensitive to noise, along with tinnitus, and often have pain and muscle tension in the neck and back. They are usually energetic, nervous, and talkative, but become depressed or fearful when not feeling well. Headaches and problems during menstrual periods are often seen in people who need this remedy.
Coffea cruda
This remedy may be helpful to an excitable, nervous person with tinnitus accompanied by extremely sensitive hearing and a buzzing feeling in the back of the head. People who need this remedy often have insomnia from mental overstimulation.
Kali carbonicum
Tinnitus with ringing or roaring, accompanied by cracking noises and itching in the ears, may be relieved with this remedy. Vertigo experienced on turning is another indication. People who need this remedy are often quite conservative, with a rigid code of ethics. They tend to feel anxiety in the region of the stomach.
Kali Muriaticum
Diphtheria. Dropsy. Dysentery. Ear, affections of. Eczema. Embolism. Eustachian tubes, occlusion of. Eyes, affections of. Glands, swollen. Chronic catarrhal conditions of middle ear. Deafness or earache from congestion or swelling of middle ear or Eustachian tubes, with swelling of the glands, or cracking noises on blowing nose, or swallowing. Deafness due to throat troubles, white tongue. Deafness from swelling of external ear. Granular conditions of external meatus and membrane tympani. Closed Eustachian tubes. Seems to act more on Eustachian tube. Snapping and noises in ears.
Grephites
Shootings and beatings in the ears. Dryness of the internal ear. Fetid smell and discharge of blood and of pus from the ears. Scabs, tetters, running, and excoriation, behind the ears. Hardness of hearing. Hardness of hearing. Singing, tinkling buzzing, and rumbling like that of thunder in the ears. Buzzing in ears at night. Sensation, as if air were enclosed in the Eustachian tube. Sensation as if the ear were filled with water. Sensation as if a skin were before the ear. Whistling in the ears. Cracking in the ears when moving the jaw.
Zincum Metallicum
Earache, with tearing lancinations and external swelling, esp. in children. Frequent, acute stitches in r. ear, near tympanum. Earache of children, esp. boys. Increased ear-wax, l. ear, thinner than usual. Tickling in l. ear not > by rubbing. Itching in ear. Flow of fetid pus from ears. Noises – humming; whizzing; ringing; crash as from breaking glass on falling asleep.
Petroleum
Inflammation and painful swelling of meatus auditorium. Otalgia, with cramp-like and jerking pain. Dryness, and distressing sensation of dryness, in interior of ear. Discharge of blood and pus from ears. Eruption of ears. Redness, excoriation, and oozing behind ears. Deafness. Tinkling, rolling, roaring, ringing, rumbling, cracking, and buzzing in ears. Excessive secretion of cerumen.
Formica Rufa
Ringing buzzing in ears. Cracking in l. ear with headache. Deafness. External sensitivity of ear and temple.
Manganum Aceticum
Otalgia. Drawing pains in ears, commencing from other organs. Pains extend to and concentrate in ears from other organs. Shootings in ears when speaking, swallowing, laughing, and walking heavily. Hardness of hearing, as from stoppage of ears, removed by blowing nose. Buzzing and rumbling in ears. Detonation in ears, when blowing nose, and swallowing, and crashing sound when yawning. Whistling tinnitus. Whizzing and rushing in ear. Swelling of parotid, with a reddish hue, in typhus.
Salicinum
Tingling in r. ear. Persistent ringing in ears. Deafness. Deafness. Influenza. Manire’s disease. Tinnitus.
Silicea Tera
Otalgia, with drawing pain. Boring and throbbing in the ears. Shootings in the ears, from within outwards. Itching in ears (especially when swallowing). Inflammation and running from edges of ears. Scabs behind ears. Swelling of exterior of ear, with pus discharge from the ear, accompanied by a sort of whistling. Copious accumulation of moist (very thin) cerumen. Otorrhea with great sensitiveness to cold air. Excessive sensitivity to noise. Obstruction of ears, which sometimes disappears on blowing the nose, or else with a loud report. Hardness of hearing, sometimes without noise in ears, or else exclusively for human voice. Hardness of hearing. Paralyzed auditory nerves. Tinkling, clucking, and noise, like the fluttering of a bird, in ears. Roaring and singing in ears. Caries of the mastoid process. Swelling and induration of parotids.
China Officinalis
Ears, deafness; noises, tinnitus; humming noises in the ear. These are accompanied by a stitching/tearing pain in the ears that worsens with touch. There may be overall weakness, debility, and headache. Ringing in ears. External ear sensitive to touch. Hearing sensitive to noise. Lobules red and swollen.
Bryonia Alba
Contractive pains in the ears, with diminution of hearing. Shootings in the ears, while walking in the open air, and afterwards. Swelling, like a knob, before and behind the ear (parotitis). Bleeding from the ears. Sensation in the ears, as if they were stopped. Buzzing in the ears. All noise is insupportable to the ears. tinnitus with chirping noises inside the ear. The ear may feel blocked, intolerance towards noises in the environment may be present along with spells of vertigo.
A deep, stitching or shooting pain that gets worse in the open air may be present. The ear is usually sensitive to touch.
Lachesis Muta
Ears are cold, sensitive to the wind. Painful swelling of interior of ear. Dryness of ears. Cerumen scanty, too hard and too pale, or like pap, and white, with diminution of the power of hearing. Very disagreeable throbbing, tinkling, roaring, cracking, buzzing and rolling, or a resounding noise, as if a drum were beaten, in ears. Whizzing, as from insects in ear. Ears as if stopped. Excessive sensibility, or hardness of hearing. Hemorrhage from the ears. Pain in ears with sore throat. Tearing extends from zygoma into the ear. Swelling of parotids. Excoriation and scabs behind ears.
Hydrastis Canadensis
Roaring in the ears; like machinery. Pain in r. ear; it disappeared and was followed immediately by fulness in forehead and pain over eye. Sharp pain back of r. ear passing to shoulder. Otorrhea, thick fetid mucus discharge. Partial stoppage of Eustachian tube. Throat deafness.
Causticum
Ears ringing, roaring, pulsating, with deafness; words and steps re-echo; chronic middle-ear catarrh; accumulation of ear-wax.
Pulsatilla Nigricans
Pain in ears, as if something were about to protrude from them. Shootings with itching, or sharp, jerking pain, and contraction in and round ears. Earache with shooting down. Earache in both ears with violent headache, frontal and occipital. Inflammatory swelling, heat, and erysipelatous redness of ear and auditory duct, surrounding external parts. Painful swelling of bones behind ears. The cerumen is hard and black. Discharge of pus, of blood, or of a thick yellowish humor from ear. Discharge from one or both ears, which may come on after measles or any other disease, or may occur spontaneously. Otorrhea with throbbing tinnitus. Warbling, pulsative murmurs, tinkling, roaring, and humming in ears. Hardness of hearing, as from an obstruction. Deafness after washing head. Burning, gnawing scabs at the tragus (with swelling of glands of neck). Shootings in parotids.
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Dr. Sayyad Qaisar Ahmed (MD {Ukraine}, DHMS), Abdominal Surgeries, Oncological surgeries, Gastroenterologist, Specialist Homeopathic Medicines.
Senior research officer at Dnepropetrovsk state medical academy Ukraine.
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