Tinnitus

“Tinnitus” is the medical term for hearing a sound in your ears or your head that no one else can hear. You may hear ringing, humming, buzzing, clicking or a whooshing sound. The sound may be soft or loud enough that you can’t hear anything else. It can affect one or both ears. Severe tinnitus can make it hard to sleep or focus. Tinnitus may go away within days or be a permanent issue.

Tinnitus (pronounced “tin-NITE-us” or “TIN-ne-tus”) isn’t a disease. It’s often a symptom of an underlying hearing loss. But many things can cause tinnitus. Treating the underlying condition may help. And there are ways to manage tinnitus and reduce its impact on your quality of life.

What are the most common causes of tinnitus?

Damage to your inner ear can cause tinnitus. Some common causes are:

• Hearing loss: This is a very common cause. About 8 to 9 people out of 10 who have long-term tinnitus have an underlying hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss is the most common cause of hearing loss that leads to tinnitus.
• Noise exposure: A single experience with loud noise, like gunfire or a loud concert, can cause tinnitus. So can repeated exposure to noise from working with machinery or in a factory. Healthcare providers may call this noise-induced hearing loss.
• Dental issues: Issues with your teeth or bite may cause tinnitus.
• Ear conditions: Earwax buildup or an ear infection can make it hard to hear sounds around you, so tinnitus is more noticeable.
• Head and neck injuries: Injuries like a concussion or whiplash may cause tinnitus.
• Medications: Some antibiotics, antidepressants, cancer drugs and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may cause this symptom.
• Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders: Issues with your jaw are a common cause.

Sometimes, having a chronic headache or dizziness can trigger tinnitus. Tinnitus can also be a symptom of conditions like:

• Eustachian tube dysfunction
• Ménière’s disease
• Vestibular schwannoma (a noncancerous tumor on the vestibular nerve)
• Otosclerosis (abnormal bone growth inside your ears)
• Conditions that cause pulsatile tinnitus (so you hear your heartbeat in your ears)
• Autoimmune diseases, like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis

Stress and lack of sleep can make tinnitus worse. The noise in your ears may sound louder than usual, which in turn can lead to more restless nights and stressful days.

How is tinnitus treated?

Treatment depends on the cause. For example, treating the underlying cause may also calm the noise in your ears. You can also manage how tinnitus affects your daily life. An audiologist may recommend treatments like:

• Hearing aids: This is an option for people with normal hearing and when tinnitus is a symptom of hearing loss. There are hearing aids with sound therapy programs that help soothe tinnitus.
• Sound therapy: White noise or nature sounds may make tinnitus less noticeable.
• Cognitive behavior therapy: This treatment works by helping you find ways to cope with tinnitus.
• Dental care: If tinnitus is related to a dental or jaw issue, treating that issue can ease tinnitus.
• Physical therapy: A specialist can show you exercises to help manage tinnitus that issues with your head, neck and jaw may cause.

Your provider may refer you to a neurologist for additional tests and treatments. They can check to see if a head or neck injury, chronic headache or dizziness is why you have tinnitus. They can also recommend ways to manage tinnitus that certain medications can cause.

What are the complications and risks of not treating tinnitus?

Tinnitus can affect your quality of life. Some people with tinnitus have anxiety or depression. They may feel too tired to focus on work, school or their families.

Very rarely, tinnitus may be a symptom of a serious condition. Talking to a healthcare provider about noise in your ears may be the first step toward finding the cause.

Can tinnitus be prevented?

Some causes of tinnitus aren’t preventable. But you can reduce the risk of noise-induced hearing loss, which is one of the most common causes of tinnitus. You may need to protect your hearing if you:

• Attend concerts and movies with high noise levels
• Work in construction sites or in a factory where you’re exposed to machine or vehicle noise
• Perform onstage so you’re exposed to amplifiers
• Exercise in a gym that plays loud music for motivation
• Use power tools, including lawn mowers and leaf blowers
• Use firearms
• Use earbuds or headphones at high volumes when you listen to music or podcasts
• Smoke cigarettes or cigars (smoking can damage your ears and cause hearing loss and tinnitus)

Talk to an audiologist if you’re often around loud noise. They’ll recommend ways to protect your hearing from short- or long-term exposure to loud noise.

When should this symptom be treated by a healthcare provider?

You should schedule a visit with an audiologist if you have any of the following:

• Constant or bothersome tinnitus that lasts for several weeks
• A sudden change in your hearing
• Hearing loss
• Dizziness and vertigo, which can be Ménière’s disease symptoms if you have them along with tinnitus

If you hear your heartbeat in your ears, contact your primary care doctor. They may recommend you see a cardiovascular doctor or an ear, nose and throat specialist (otolaryngologist).

Can you live a long life with this symptom?

Yes, you can. Very rarely, tinnitus is a symptom of a serious medical condition. Talk to a healthcare provider if you have tinnitus that disrupts your daily routine.

Will tinnitus go away?

That may depend on the cause. For example, ringing in your ears after attending a loud concert may go away after a few hours. And tinnitus from an underlying condition may get better if treatment cures it. But tinnitus may be a permanent issue if you have hearing loss.