Ringing in the ears is called tinnitus. The cause of tinnitus is not always known. Sometimes tinnitus is caused by exposure to loud noise, hearing loss, a buildup of earwax, physical defects in the brain or ear, physical injuries to the brain, temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders, certain medications, excessive caffeine intake or Meniere's disease. There is some speculation that tinnitus may be caused by a vitamin B12 deficiency in some people. Tinnitus does not cause physical harm to a person, but it can cause emotional distress. Some people are bothered by tinnitus symptoms more than others. Sometimes tinnitus symptoms can be eliminated, sometimes they cannot. When tinnitus symptoms cannot be eliminated, treatment is based on reducing symptoms and helping the patient cope with sounds.
Treating the Problem
Step 1
See an ear, nose and throat doctor (otolaryngologist) for an examination to rule out any problems within the ear. If a buildup of earwax is the cause of your tinnitus, the doctor will use special tools to carefully clean the wax out of your ears.
Step 2
Undergo a hearing test with an audiologist to determine if your tinnitus is a symptom of hearing loss. Tinnitus that is accompanied by hearing loss can often be relieved with the use of a hearing aid which raises the volume of normal sounds, making the ringing in the ears less noticeable.
Step 3
See your general practitioner and ask to have a blood test done to determine your vitamin B12 levels. A study conducted by the Institute of Noise Hazards Research and Evoked Potentials Laboratory found that some people with chronic tinnitus were deficient in B12. Some of the deficient patients experienced reduced symptoms of tinnitus when given vitamin B12.
Step 4
Speak with your doctor about stopping or changing medications if your tinnitus is caused by medications.
Step 5
Talk to your doctor about whether the use of anti-anxiety medications or antidepressant medications might help you. The University of California, San Francisco, states that the use of anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications "are helpful for certain tinnitus patients," but they warn that "more research is needed in this area."
Step 6
Avoid loud noise situations to prevent damage to the ears. If loud noise situations are unavoidable, wear hearing protection to protect your ears.
Step 7
Eliminate caffeine consumption and tobacco use and reduce your salt intake.
Step 8
Talk to your audiologist about tinnitus retraining therapy. Tinnitus retraining therapy combines the use of a noise generator (a device that fits in the ear and plays white noise) and cognitive behavioral therapy to train the brain to ignore tinnitus sounds.
Step 9
Sleep with music in the background or with a white noise machine in the background to relieve symptoms of tinnitus while sleeping, when tinnitus symptoms tend to be the worst.
Things You'll Need
- Doctor
- White noise machine
References
- Am J Otolaryngol 14(2):94-9; Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Patients With Chronic Tinnitus and Noise Induced Hearing Loss; Institute of Noise Hazards Research and Evoked Potentials Laboratory, IDF, Chaim-Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel; Shemesh Z, Attias J, Ornan M, Shapira N, Shahar A; Mar. Aprl.1993
- University of California, San Francisco - Tinnitus
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - The Noise in Your Ears: Facts About Tinnitus
