Are you asking yourself, “why do I have ringing in my ears” or “my ears won’t stop buzzing”? Are you hearing unwanted sounds in your ears that only you can hear? Well, you’re not alone.
About one in three Australians suffer from ringing, buzzing, humming or other bothersome sounds in their ears at some point in their life, while one in six people suffer from more consistent symptoms. Any unwanted sounds in your ear/s is known as Tinnitus and it is surprisingly common, but that doesn’t make it any less of an annoying issue.
There are multiple things that could be causing ringing in your ears. Let’s go through some of the common causes so that you may find the source of your problem today.
It’s Too Loud
If you spend a lot of time in loud environments, it can cause Tinnitus in your ears. That includes construction sites, music venues, or just playing extra loud music on your headphones.
Try reducing the amount of time you spend in loud environments or wearing good hearing protection if you can’t. Noise exposure can easily lead to permanent damage to your hearing and often tinnitus. You should look into a hearing test to see if the noise you have been exposed to has caused an issue for you yet.
Concussions
One of the major signs of a concussion is ringing in your ears. So, if you’ve recently hit your head, you might want to take yourself to a hospital to make sure you’re not suffering from a head injury.
Other symptoms of concussion you’ll want to look out for include nausea, confusion, loss of balance, light sensitivity, blurred vision, mood swings, and changes in smell or taste and hearing loss.
You should also take steps to prevent concussions before they happen. Wear a helmet when you participate in high-risk activities, like contact sports or riding a motorcycle.
Other head injuries, like traumatic brain injuries, can also cause tinnitus. Make sure you consult with a medical professional immediately if you think you may have any sort of head injury.
Ear Infections
An ear infection can also cause ringing in your ears, depending on your symptoms. If you are suffering from an ear infection, you may also be suffering from ear pain, discharge, a high fever, muffled hearing, nausea, inflammation, and headaches.
If you believe you may be suffering from an ear infection, make sure you consult your doctor so you can get antibiotics. That way, your ear infection will be cleared up in no time.
Too Much Earwax
If you’ve got an earwax buildup, that may be a cause of ringing in your ears. Other symptoms of having too much earwax can include dizziness, earaches, and feeling like you have blockages in your ears.
You can look into wax management today, which should help reduce your symptoms quickly. Afterwards, talk to your doctor about steps you can take to prevent earwax buildup from causing you issues again. That way, you’ll be able to keep warding off the tinnitus!
Aging
As you age, you may be more prone to ear or hearing problems like having too much earwax, hearing loss and tinnitus.. Men tend to be more prone to tinnitus than women, along with people who smoke or who have smoked in the past.
Especially if you suffer from hearing loss or already use a hearing aid or other hearing device, you may be more prone to ringing in your ears than the average person.
That’s why it’s important to stay on top of your ear health. If you don’t already have a hearing aid, hearing aids may actually be able to help treat your tinnitus.
Jaw Issues
People who suffer from temporomandibular joint disorders may, unfortunately often get ringing ears as a symptom. Other signs of temporomandibular joint (or TMJ) disorders include popping and clicking sounds, pain in your jaw and ears, difficulty chewing, jaw locking, and facial pain.
If you think you may be suffering from TMJ problems, you should contact your dentist to see if you can take preventative measures, such as using a mouthguard.
Medication Side Effects
It may surprise you to know that ringing in your ears can be a side effect of some medications.
Some medications that can cause tinnitus include antibiotics, anti-depressants, blood pressure medications, diuretics, anti-malaria medications, anti-cancer medications, and taking large amounts of aspirin.
If you take any of these medications, make sure you talk to your doctor to try and reduce your symptoms.
Other Medical Issues
These aren’t the only things that can cause ringing in your ears. There are other, more severe issues that may be causing it such as:
- Meniere’s disease
- Atherosclerosis
- Eustachian tube dysfunction
- Labyrinthitis
- Certain thyroid diseases
- Otosclerosis
- Anemia
- Acoustic neuroma
- High blood pressure
- The flu
- Stress and anxiety disorders
- Brain tumours
It’s important to not ignore tinnitus and to act on it as early as possible. Make sure you discuss your symptoms or concerns with your doctor, so you can start to get relief from your tinnitus as soon as possible.
Why Do I Have Ringing in My Ears? Now You Know
Hopefully, one of these options has helped you resolve the question, “why do I have ringing in my ears?”
But, you should consult with a healthcare professional to make sure you don’t have a bigger health problem going on. An audiologist can help test your hearing and general ‘ear health’, and help find the cause. Whilst there’s not necessarily a cure for tinnitus, there are a lot of great treatment options that could help you Do you think you may have a problem with your hearing? Make an appointment with Country Hearing Health today.
