'My ears are ringing'
7/18/2024 by Denise Dupras, M.D., Ph.D.
Tinnitus, or hearing "ringing" in your ears, is common. It affects 1 in 5 people. You may also experience buzzing, hissing, clicking, or even a roaring sensation when there are sounds no one else can hear.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus is not a disease, but rather, it's a symptom caused by another condition. The most common cause is inner ear damage to delicate hairs that transmit sound waves to your brain. Other common causes include age-related hearing loss, exposure to loud noise, earwax in your outer ear canal, and changes in the bones in your middle ear that transmit sounds.
Less common causes include problems related to head and neck injuries; acoustic neuroma (benign tumors on the cranial nerve); underlying medical conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure or thyroid disease; and Meniere's disease, which is often associated with severe dizziness. Even medications can cause tinnitus or worsen your symptoms.
Should you worry about tinnitus?
Whether you should worry about tinnitus depends. If it occurs suddenly, or you have dizziness or hearing loss associated with the noise, you should see your healthcare team. Evaluation and treatment depend on the cause of tinnitus.
While tinnitus can't be cured, it can be managed. This may involve removing excess earwax, treating an underlying condition, changing medications, using white or masking noise, or being properly fitted with hearing aids. Sometimes, tinnitus can be reduced so you can hear sound better. Exercise and relaxation techniques also may help since tinnitus can worsen with stress. Tinnitus can affect your mental health as well and may require counseling and medication to help you deal with your symptoms and the impact on your life.
Several promising therapies include music therapy, which trains your brain to ignore the sound, and cognitive behavioral therapy, which focuses on replacing negative thoughts with positive ones to change your reaction to tinnitus.
How to prevent tinnitus
Most importantly, you can take actions to prevent tinnitus:
- Wear ear protection when around loud machines, including firearms and chainsaws.
- Turn down the volume when listening to music.
- Take care of your health, both physical and mental.
Denise Dupras, M.D., Ph.D., is a general internist in Primary Care in Rochester and Kasson's Division of Community Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care. She completed her medical and doctoral degrees at Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine and her residency in internal medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Her interests include medical education and evidence-based medicine.