Tinnitus Causes
Many heath problems can make the tinnitus worse, but the exact cause is not predictable. Damage of the inner cells of the ear is common cause of the tinnitus. Delicate and tiny hairs present inside the ear move because of pressure of the sound waves. These ear cells release electrical signal through the nerve from ear to the brain. The brain read these signals as a sound. If the hairs present inside the ear are broken or bent then they can reveal electrical impulses to the brain which causes tinnitus.
Common causes of tinnitus:
Any of the following condition is responsible for causing the tinnitus :
- Age-related hearing loss - In many people tinnitus gets worse as age increases and it generally started at the age of 60. Tinnitus can cause because of hearing loss and the medical term used for hearing loss is presbycusis.
- Exposure to loud noise - Loud noise may destroy the hearing capability. MP3 player or ipods played loudly for long time can produce hearing loss.
- Earwax blockage - Earwax can protect the ears by trapping the dirt and minimizing the bacterial growth. If much earwax accumulates, then it is very hard to wash and causes the tinnitus or hearing problems.
- Changes in ear bones - Thickening of the bones in the middle ear can affected on the hearing and so causes the tinnitus. This condition occurs because of abnormal growth of the bones.
Other causes of tinnitus:
- Meniere's disease - This is disease of inner ear. This is caused because of pressure of fluid or the composition of fluid.
- Stress and depression - This is the common reason of tinnitus, when the hearing tests are regular and no any other cause can recognized.
- Head injuries or neck injuries - This type of disorders affects the functioning of brain and nerves, which are linked to the hearing. Because of neck or head injuries, tinnitus is occurred, but is can be in any one ear and not both.
- Acoustic neuroma - Acoustic neuroma is a noncancerous tumor. It develops on cranial nerve. These nerves runs from brain to the inner ear and its functions are controlling, balancing and hearing. This disorder also causes tinnitus in only one ear and not both.
Blood vessel disorders linked to tinnitus:
Rarely tinnitus is caused by a blood vessel disorder. This type of tinnitus is called pulsatile tinnitus.
It has following causes:
- Head and neck tumors - A tumor that presses on blood vessels in your head or neck (vascular neoplasm) can cause tinnitus and other symptoms.
- Atherosclerosis - With age and buildup of cholesterol and other fatty deposits, major blood vessels close to your middle and inner ear lose some of their elasticity, elasticity is the ability to flex or expand slightly with each heartbeat.
It causes blood flow to become more forceful and sometimes more turbulent, making it easier for your ear to detect the beats. You can generally hear this type of tinnitus in both ears.
- High blood pressure - Hypertension and factors that increase blood pressure, like stress, alcohol and caffeine can make tinnitus more noticeable. Repositioning your head usually causes the sound to disappear.
- Turbulent blood flow - Narrowing or kinking in a neck artery (carotid artery) or vein in your neck (jugular vein) can cause turbulent blood flow, leading to tinnitus.
- Malformation of capillaries - A condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM), which occurs in the connection between arteries and veins, can result in tinnitus. This type of tinnitus generally occurs in only one ear.
Medications that can cause tinnitus:
Medications are also responsible for causing the tinnitus. Tinnitus get worsen after getting the higher dose.
Following medications may worsen the tinnitus:
- Antibiotics - Containing erythromycin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, bleomycin and vancomycin.
- Cancer medications - such as vincristine and mechlorethamine.
- Diuretics - water pills - such as ethacrynic acid, bumetanide, furosemide.
- Quinine medications - which are used for malaria as well as other health problems.
- Chloroquine - used for malaria
- Aspirin - if it taken in high quantity, then cause tinnitus.
There are many causes for the tinnitus but one most common cause is otologic. This disorder is also responsible for hearing loss. Another most common cause is noise induced hearing loss which is caused because of loud voice.
The tinnitus with the sudden hearing loss does not have any perfect or external cause. Ototoxic drugs may cause tinnitus with hearing loss or without the hearing loss and also increase the damage has done because of exposure to the loud voice.
General tinnitus causes are as below:
- Otologic problems and the hearing loss:
- Conductive hearing loss
- External ear infection
- Cerumen (earwax) impaction
- Acoustic shock
- Superior canal dehiscence
- Middle ear effusion
- Sensorineural hearing loss
- Excessive or loud noise
- Meniere's disease
- Presbycusis (age-associated hearing loss)
- Mercury or lead poisoning
- Acoustic neuroma
- Ototoxic medications
- Analgesics:
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Aspirin
- Chemotherapy and antiviral drugs:
- Bleomycin
- Pegylated interferon-alpha-2b
- Interferon
- Cisplatin
- Methotrexate
- Mechlorethamine
- Vincristine
- Antibiotics:
- Aminoglycosides e.g. gentamicin
- Erythromycin
- Chloramphenicol
- Tetracycline
- Vibramycin[18]
- Vancomycin
- Loop diuretics:
- Bumetanide
- Furosemide
- Ethacrynic acid
- Others are as:
- Quinine
- Chloroquine
- Analgesics:
- Psychedelic drugs:
- 5-Methoxy-diisopropyltryptamine
- Diisopropyltryptamine (DiPT)
- Neurologic disorders:
- Multiple sclerosis
- Chiari malformation
- Head injury:
- Skull fracture
- Whiplash injury
- Closed head injury
- Temporomandibular joint disorder
- Psychiatric disorders:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Metabolic disorders:
- Thyroid disorder
- Hyperlipidemia
- Vitamin B12 deficiency
- Other causes are as below:
- Tension Myositis Syndrome
- Hypertonia
- Thoracic outlet syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Lyme disease
- Sleep paralysis
- Hypnogogia
- Glomus Tympanicum
- Conductive hearing loss