Tinnitus, (pronounced
tih-NIGHT-us or TIN-ih-tus) is a ringing, swishing, or other
type of noise that seems to originate in the ear or head.
Most of us will experience tinnitus or sounds in the ears at
some time or another.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication Disorders (NIDCD), almost 12 percent of men
who are 65 to 74 years of age are affected by tinnitus.
Tinnitus is identified more frequently in white individuals,
and the prevalence of tinnitus in the U.S. is almost twice
as frequent in the South as in the Northeast.
Tinnitus can be extremely disturbing to people who have it.
In many cases it is not a serious problem, but rather a
nuisance that may go away. However, some people with
tinnitus may require medical or surgical treatment. Twelve
million Americans have tinnitus, and one million experience
it so severely it interferes with their daily activities.
Tinnitus can arise in any of the four sections of the
hearing system: the outer ear, the middle ear, the inner
ear, and the brain. Some tinnitus or "head noise" is normal.
A number of techniques and treatments may be of help,
depending on the cause.
Some of the most common include a sound of crickets or
roaring, buzzing, hissing, whistling, and high-pitched
ringing.
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Other types of tinnitus
include a clicking or pulsatile tinnitus (the noise accompanies your
heartbeat). The most common type of tinnitus is known as subjective
tinnitus, meaning that you hear a sound but it cannot be heard by
others.
A much more uncommon sort is called objective tinnitus, meaning your
doctor may sometimes actually hear a sound when he or she is
carefully listening for it.
Tinnitus is not a disease in itself but rather a reflection of
something else that is going on in the hearing system or brain.
Probably the most common cause for tinnitus is hearing loss. As we
age, or because of trauma to the ear (through noise, drugs, or
chemicals), the portion of the ear that allows us to hear, the
cochlea, becomes damaged.
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