The approach towards prevention or treatment of tinnitus has always been thought of as means of causativeness of this condition. In certain cases, it is as straightforward as limiting your exposure to noises (particularly if the noise is a job-related menace). This mainly holds true for dentists, musicians and other similar jobs. Stress and strain have also been found to induce tinnitus, so it is imperative to calm down and breathe easy in today’s active and speedy life, if one wants to avoid symptoms like tinnitus. Almost anything that can go wrong with our ears can initiate tinnitus as a symptom.

Injured Cochlea, A Common Cause of Tinnitus

Individuals with tinnitus have been known to have injured the delicate portions of their ears. As a consequence, their cochlea and its adjoining area also becomes injured.

The cochlea is a corkscrew-shaped cavity in the internal ear. An essential component of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, the sensory organ of hearing, which is spread along the partition that separates fluid compartments in the cochlea.

Any cause of hearing loss can as well lead to tinnitus. There are a number of causes linked with tinnitus such as follows:

Noise

The most common cause of tinnitus is hearing loss prompted by noise. Most individuals with this condition believe that their ears are ringing, but there is no external cause of ringing. This condition can attack individuals of all ages particularly those above fifty years of age. The degree of sound volume in our daily surroundings can disable our ears and cause tinnitus. We may work in a loud environment such as the military/ in an industrial setting/ construction work/as musicians/ as hunters/ have a passionate intensity for shooting, for many years without realizing the influence of noise on our hearing capability.

We can fight this destruction by purchasing earplugs for safeguarding but at the same time, it is also important to be aware of the fact that our ears can be traumatized by booming noises even if we are in their neighborhood only for a short amount of time. Deafening musical performances or paying attention to noisy music can damage our hearing and cause tinnitus as well. Even negligible sound can actually make an influence on the ringing in our ears. Tinnitus symptoms may increase when surroundings are noiseless. A small number of articles could serve the purpose to balance out the sound around us. Examples of these could be turning on a fan, placing a clock (which makes a steady recurrent ticking sound) near our bed, turning the radio on a low volume.

Damage to the ear

Damage to the ear could be due to any cause (such as being exposed to an environment of markedly loud noise e.g. in case of industrial personnel, agrarians, work force associated with transportation, lawn grass cutters, those who frequently attend rock concerts, abusage of personal / portable stereos etc. Maintenance of the health of the cochlea can assist in resisting these conditions.

Conditions in the outer ear e.g. ear wax, a hair touching the eardrum, a foreign body, a perforated eardrum etc.

Ailments in the middle ear e.g. negative pressure from Eustachian tube dysfunction, fluid, infection, Otosclerosis, allergies, benign tumors etc.

Maladies in the inner ear, such as sensorineural hearing loss due to noise exposure, aging, Meniere’s disease (often accompanied by hearing loss and dizziness).

Drugs That Can Cause Tinnitus

Secondary to certain ototoxic medicines (these drugs are known to cause perpetual injury) examples are certain antibiotics (e.g. Gentamicin) Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, benzodiazepines, chemotherapy drugs used for the treatment of malignancies (e.g. Cisplastin, Carboplatin) etc.

To be honest, more than two hundred medicines and compounds are notorious for giving rise to hearing and balance problems. Among these the salicylates (e.g. aspirin), chloroquine (meant for treatment of malaria) and loop diuretics (meant for treatment of several ailments of kidney and heart) are known to cause momentary damage to the hearing capacity. Harm caused to the capacity of hearing and balance by these drugs can occasionally be upturned when the drug therapy is stopped. However, many a times, the damage is permanent.

Some other causes of Tinnitus Include;

  • Anemia
  • Tiredness
  • Stress
  • Melancholy
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency
  • Common cold and runny nose

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