The Buzz in Your Ears

It’s not a disease, rather it's a subjective phenomenon that your ears might experience once in a while because of a wide range of underlying causes. Tinnitus, pronounced as TIN-ih-tus is noise or ringing in the ears. A very common conditions tinnitus affects about 1 in 5 people. It is mostly a symptom of an underlying condition, such as age-related hearing loss, ear injury or a circulatory system disorder.

Tinnitus is nothing serious, but getting an annoying sensation of hearing a sound without the presence of any external sound could be very bothersome. Although it gets worse with age, in many cases, tinnitus can improve with treatment.
  * Tinnitus symptoms include these types of phantom noises in your ears:
  * Ringing
  * Buzzing
  * Roaring
  * Clicking
  * Hissing
The phantom noise may vary in pitch from a low roar to a high squeal, and you may hear it in one or both ears. In some cases, the sound can be so loud it can interfere with your ability to concentrate or hear actual sound. Tinnitus may be present all the time, or it might visit you once a day or so.
Tinnitus can be of two kinds:
 * Subjective tinnitus is the most common type of tinnitus. It can be caused by ear problems in your outer, middle or inner ear. It also can be caused by problems with the hearing (auditory) nerves or the part of your brain that interprets nerve signals as sound (auditory pathways).
 * Objective tinnitus is a bit tricky. This is the type which only your doctor can hear when he or she does an examination. This rare type of tinnitus may be caused by a blood vessel problem, an inner ear bone condition or muscle contractions.
* Remember
 * A common cause of tinnitus is inner ear cell damage. Tiny, delicate hairs in your inner ear move in relation to the pressure of sound waves. This triggers ear cells to release an electrical signal through a nerve from your ear (auditory nerve) to your brain. Your brain interprets these signals as sound. If the hairs inside your inner ear are bent or broken, they can "leak" random electrical impulses to your brain, causing tinnitus.
  * Other causes of tinnitus include other ear problems, chronic health conditions, and injuries or conditions that affect the nerves in your ear or the hearing center in your brain.
  * See a doctor immediately if you have tinnitus that occurs suddenly or without an apparent cause. You need an expert's suggestion if you face hearing loss or dizziness with the tinnitus.
  * You might need medication if you develop tinnitus after an upper respiratory infection, such as a cold, and your tinnitus doesn't improve within a week
 

Who is at risk?
Tinnitus can happen to anyone, but people who are exposed to a certain factors are more vulnerable than others:
 * Loud noise exposure. The tiny sensory hair cells in your ear that works to  transmit sound to your brain can be injured continued exposure to loud noise. Therefore people like factory and construction workers, musicians, and soldiers are prone to tinnitus. Tinnitus caused by short-term exposure, such as attending a loud concert, usually goes away; long-term exposure to loud sound can cause permanent damage.
  * Ear bone changes. If your middle ear suddenly grows an abnormal bone, that may affect your hearing and cause tinnitus.
  * Age. As you grow old, nerve fibers in your ears gradually stop functioning, causing hearing problems often associated with tinnitus.The medical term for this type of hearing loss is presbycusis
  * Gender. Men are more prone to tinnitus than women
  * Smoking. Smokers have a higher risk of developing tinnitus.
  * Cardiovascular problems. People who have high blood pressure, narrowed arteries or any other cardiovascular Conditions are likely to get tinnitus.
Also patients who need to take certain kinds of medicine can get tinnitus. Medication that might worsen the situation are antibiotics, cancer medications, water pills (diuretics), quinine medications and certain antidepressants. Moreover head or neck trauma can affect the inner ear, hearing nerves or brain function linked to hearing. Such injuries generally cause tinnitus in only one ear.
In most of the cases, tinnitus is the result of something that is hard to be prevented. Nevertheless these precautions can help avoid certain kinds of tinnitus.
 * Use hearing protection. If you work in a place that uses loud machinery or firearms always stick to wearing an over-the-ear hearing protection. As exposure to loud noise for a longer period can damage the nerves in the ears it can cause hearing loss and tinnitus.
  * Check the volume. Listening to music at very high volume using headphones can cause hearing loss and tinnitus, so turn down your volume. Also stay away from amplified music.
  * Take care of your cardiovascular health. Exercising regularly, taking a proper diet and adopting other steps to keep your blood vessels healthy can help prevent tinnitus linked to blood vessel disorders.

— Mayo Clinic