What Causes Tinnitus?

Tinnitus has been around for decades. It has always been something that people suffer from, and it might not be entirely genetic. You might have a family who has never suffered from Tinnitus and you still might end up with it at some point in your life. In order to understand where Tinnitus comes from, you first need to know what it is.

If you are unsure of what Tinnitus is, and you can’t be sure if you have it or not, let me tell you about it to help you figure it out.

Tinnitus is something that attacks your eardrums. You will know if you have Tinnitus because you will suffer from constant ringing or white noise in your ears. The ringing or white noise can happen daily in severe cases. If not treated or taken care of properly, you can even lose your hearing completely.

The more mild cases of Tinnitus do not have a threat of hearing loss, but it can still be annoying to deal with. The ringing won’t happen daily, but it will still happen frequently enough for you to notice a pattern. Triggers could be loud and strange noises. Anything that bothers your eardrums can trigger a ringing sensation when you have Tinnitus.

Sometimes it might not be ringing or white noise. Other symptoms include a humming noise, a hissing noise, or even a buzzing noise.

Those are the symptoms of Tinnitus, but what exactly causes this ear issue in the first place?

Hearing loss runs in your family.
If age-related hearing loss runs in your family, you will most likely end up with Tinnitus as you grow older. It will not be a big issue when you are younger, but you will start to notice it as you age.

Being around loud noises.
Earplugs are often suggested when taking children to concerts or other loud events because Tinnitus attacks when loud noises are present. If you made a habit of playing the drums listening to loud music without proper ear protection growing up, you probably have Tinnitus now.

Headaches.
This can, believe it or not, cause Tinnitus in severe cases. If you suffer from constant headaches or migraines, then you will probably also suffer from Tinnitus. There is not much science as to why these two things are connected, but they are.

Neck injury.
Having a severe neck injury can also cause Tinnitus. This falls in the same category as the headaches. Everything from your neck up will be connected in some way. If you injure one thing, the chances of causing problems somewhere else are very high.

Clogged ears.
If you don’t make a habit of cleaning the wax out of your ears, you could cause Tinnitus. Since this is a problem that happens when your hearing is affected in some way, having clogged ears will definitely cause some issues. These issues won’t be as severe in this case as it would be with others, but still there.