This article explains common causes of ear ringing and how they are treated.
The ringing goes away once the ear wax is removed.
You should avoid trying to remove the ear wax yourself.
Verywell / Gary Ferster
Seeking professional help from your care provider is the safest option.
If you attempt to remove the ear wax yourself, you should avoidear candling.
Some ear infections may require treatment with antibiotics.
Of course, getting older isn’t the only cause of ear ringing and hearing loss.
Even listening to your earbuds with the volume too high can damage your hearing.
Loud noises damage the tiny hair cells in thecochleathat are essential for hearing.
Once damaged, unfortunately, these cells never recover.
Toprevent hearing loss, turn down the volume, wear earplugs, and limit your exposure to loud noise.
Less commonly, pulsatile tinnitus can also be resulting from tumors in or around the ear.
Tinnitus can be broken down into two major types: pulsatile and non-pulsatile.
Meniere’s Disease
Meniere’sdiseaseis a poorly understood condition that usually affects only one ear.
In addition to tinnitus, it causes vertigo, headaches, hearing loss, nausea, and vomiting.
Ringing in the ears may become permanent as the disease progresses.
Medications
Certain medicationscan cause ringing in your ears.
This can cause a rhythmic thumping or whooshing sound in one or both ears.
Malformations in blood vessels near the ears, such asaneurysmsandarteriovenousmalformations, can also cause pulsatile tinnitus.
In such cases, surgery is required to treat the underlying condition.
This includes concussions, skull fractures, a blood clot in the brain, or a brain bleed.
These types of injuries can result from motor vehicle accidents, falls, contact sports, and violence.
Treatment depends on the punch in of injury and the severity of the condition.
Depending on the cause, tinnitus may be temporary or permanent.
In many cases, a ruptured eardrum gets better on its own within a couple of months.
Hearing usually returns to normal once the lesion has healed.
However, if symptoms persist or an ear infection develops, treatment may be required.
That’s because the jaw joint is located near the ears.Other symptoms may include ear pain and/or stuffiness.
For many people, TMJ symptoms are temporary.
TMJ conditions may be treated using self-care practices, physical therapy, and medications.
In severe cases,TMJ surgerymay be necessary.
Depending on the underlying cause, tinnitus may be temporary or permanent.
Miyamoto RT.Otitis media (acute).
Merck Manual Professional Version.
Penn Medicine.Ear infection (middle ear infection).
National Institute on Aging.Hearing loss: A common problem for older adults.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis).
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Tinnitus.
American Academy of OtolaryngologyHead and Neck Surgery.Tinnitus.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.Meniere’s disease.
Figueiredo RR, Azevedo AA de, Penido N de O.Menieres Disease and Tinnitus.
In: Jr FB, ed.Up to Date on Menieres Disease.
InTech; 2017. doi:10.5772/66390
Yew KS.Diagnostic approach to patients with tinnitus.Am Fam Physician.
2014;89(2):106-113.
F. Pauna H, S.A. Amaral M, A. Hyppolito M.Temporomandibular joint disorders and tinnitus.
In: Wang TC, ed.Management of Tinnitus - The Enriching Views of Treatment Options.
IntechOpen; 2019. doi:10.5772/intechopen.79453
MedlinePlus.Temporomandibular disorders.
Dinces EA.Patient education: Tinnitus (ringing in the ears) (Beyond the Basics).
NHS.Labyrinthitis and vestibular neuritis.
