What's Causing the Ringing in My Ears?

While the ringing in your ears is usually only an annoyance, you should always start with a visit to your physician to make sure. There are a number of possible medical causes for your tinnitus symptoms.

The easiest to find and solve is too much ear wax. As simple as that may sound, a lot of people have accumulated an excessive amount of wax. For some individuals, the cotton swab cleansing is not enough and they must resort to thorough cleaning by an otolaryngologist.

Noise-induced hearing loss can also cause tinnitus. The noise damages the cilia in the inner ear. The cilia are specialized hair cells that facilitate hearing. Once damaged, they do not repair themselves. Depending on the amount of damage, a cochlear implant may be necessary to augment your hearing.

Certain medicines can aggravate your tinnitus, while others can be ototoxic and cause the damage producing the tinnitus. When purchasing medications, always check for the possible side-effects and discuss these with your physician. If you feel that the medication is causing or aggravating your tinnitus, see about alternatives.

Ear or sinus infections can be the culprit. The tinnitus symptoms tend to resolve with the clearing of the infection.

Temporomandibular problems can cause the tinnitus. Your TMJ is adjacent to the ear canal. Other symptoms of TMJ problems include pain or popping when chewing.

In a small percentage of people with tinnitus, the cause is cardiovascular in nature. These individuals have "pulsatile tinnitus". This is a rhythmic pulsation, often in time with your heart. It can be related to hypertension, atherosclerosis or a few other vascular conditions.

Rarely, tumors such as acoustic neuromas and glomus tumors can cause the ringing in your ears.

Head and neck trauma can result in tinnitus. Other associated symptoms include headaches, memory loss and vertigo.

Lastly, certain disorders such as hypo- and hyperthyroidism, lyme disease, fibromyalgia, and thoracic outlet syndrome can cause the tinnitus symptoms. Usually treating the disease will alleviate the symptoms.

If you are in the unlucky majority where there is no identifiable medical cause, then you are on your own to find a tinnitus remedy. There are a large number of possible causes but a lot of time and effort may be required for you to find the tinnitus remedy right for you.