What’s That Ringing in My Ears? Understanding Tinnitus

Ringing in the ears, medically referred to as tinnitus, is a common condition. As many as 50 million people in the United States experience it. That doesn’t make it any less frustrating. At least a quarter of those individuals find tinnitus interferes with daily life.

“Tinnitus is a problem that's been around for a very long time. In fact, there was a 19th century composer, Bedřich Smetana, who had such profound tinnitus toward the end of his life, that he literally wrote it into one of his string quartets,” said Matthew Surburg, MD, a board-certified family doctor with Franciscan Physician Network Southport Family Medicine in Indianapolis.

Thankfully, there are ways to help treat tinnitus and its underlying causes.

What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is ringing, buzzing, whistling or humming sounds that don't come from an external source. Typically, tinnitus presents as a persistent ringing in the ears, but it can show up in a variety of different ways. For example, a rushing/roaring sound. It can also be high-pitched or low-pitched.

This noise in your ears can be a sign of an underlying disease or injury, but it can also have an unknown cause. Tinnitus can be a temporary or a long-term condition.

What Causes Tinnitus?

Hearing loss is one of the more common causes of tinnitus. Of course, exposure to loud noises is a common cause of hearing loss and can lead to tinnitus earlier in life.

“Because of the way the hearing apparatus works, if we were in absolute total silence, which almost never happens, we would notice a ringing in the background. For most people, just ordinary sounds, whether it's the wind of the trees, traffic noises, the swishing of your clothes, you don't notice it,” said Dr. Surburg. “But, it is something that's always there. So, hearing loss is one of those things that will tend to bring it to the forefront.”

Hearing aids may provide relief in these instances.

Other causes of tinnitus include:

• Excess wax in the ears
• Ear infections
• Medications such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin), certain antibiotics, chemotherapy medications and antidepressants.
• Benign tumors
• Strokes
• Jaw clenching or tooth grinding
• Ménière’s disease

Learn about less common causes of tinnitus.

What Should I Do If I Think I Have Tinnitus?

“If tinnitus is persistent, the most important thing is to get evaluated to identify if there is something underlying that's contributing to it,” said Dr. Surburg. “If not, oftentimes hearing aids will provide relief. I couldn't tell you how many people I've had tell me, ‘I wish I'd done this before. I had no idea how much I was missing.’”

Other treatment options for tinnitus include:

• Sound therapy
• Biofeedback
• Cognitive behavior therapy
• Tinnitus retraining therapy to help the person simply be less aware of the persistent and disruptive sound
• Certain medications

The takeaway message from Dr. Surburg is that adults or children living with tinnitus have treatment options.

“For somebody who is struggling with tinnitus, I would say the most important thing to realize is they don't have to suffer with it,” Dr. Surburg said. “Oftentimes, if there are specific conditions we can identify that are contributing, it may be something we can treat successfully. If not, there are other ways of being able to help a person relieve their symptoms.”