Is The Ringing Sound In The Ears Caused By Dying Ear Cells
I was recently watching the movie “Children of Men” by Alfonso Cuarón. Now in a certain scene, the lead actor happens to be nearby a loud explosion. Later, when he complains about the ‘ringing-sound’ in his ears due to the explosion, a co-actor replies:
You know that ringing in your ears? That ‘eeeeeeeeee’? That’s the sound of the ear cells dying, like their swan song. Once it’s gone you’ll never hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while it lasts.
How true is that statement? Do the ear-cells really die after such an incident?Can you really never hear that frequency of the ringing-sound again?
- $\begingroup$Welcome to Biology. The statement maybe true dependent on the loudness of the explosion. In turn depending on the power of the explosion and the distance od the listener to the sound source.$\endgroup$
Short answer:
That MAY be the sound of the damaged hairs dying. You MAY not hear that frequency again but that’s unlikely.
Long answer:
Okay, so tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, can happen because of many reasons. There are three real kinds:1) Spontaneous tinnitus can happen because of slight shifts in the acoustic systems of the ears, some of the hairs in the cochlea may amplify wrong and create a tiny feedback loop and ring for no reason. see this article about that kind of tinnitus here
So now that we’ve gone over the different kinds of ringing-in-the-ears , we can talk about how it works in this situation.
Myth: Tinnitus Is Only From Listening To Loud Music Or Using Earbuds
While listening to dangerously loud music, or any excessive noise for that matter, can result in tinnitus, there can be many different causes. People of different ages, races, health statuses and socioeconomic backgrounds get tinnitus, and quite often there is no obvious reason. In other words, just because you dont listen to loud music or use earbuds doesnt mean you are immune.
What Is Hearing Impairment
Hearing impairment occurs when there’s a problem with or damage to one or more parts of the ear.
The degree of hearing impairment can vary widely from person to person. Some people have partial hearing loss, meaning that the ear can pick up some sounds; others have complete hearing loss, meaning that the ear cannot hear at all . In some types of hearing loss, a person can have much more trouble when there is background noise. One or both ears may be affected, and the impairment may be worse in one ear than in the other.
The timing of the hearing loss can vary, too. Congenital hearing loss is present at birth. Acquired hearing loss happens later in life during childhood, the teen years, or in adulthood and it can be sudden or progressive .
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, about 37.5 million American people aged 18 and over are deaf or hearing impaired. That’s about 15 out of every 100 people. Another 26 million are exposed to hazardous noise levels on a regular basis. Hearing loss is also the most common birth anomaly.
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What Is Causing My Ears To Ring
Ear ringing is a condition that is perceived only by the person experiencing it. Some people may hear high-pitched sounds, others may hear a clicking, while others may experience something totally different. When someone complains of ringing, buzzing, or clicking in their ears it is called tinnitus.
Ringing in your ears has many causes. If you’ve just attended a concert and you’re wondering why your ears are ringing, you’ll be happy to know that the ringing will likely go away in a day or two.
The bad news is you likely suffered some mild hearing loss from being exposed to loud noise over a significant period of time. Loud noise is just one cause of ear ringing , other causes include the following.
Myth: Only Those With Hearing Loss Get Tinnitus
Yes, those with hearing loss can also get tinnitus, and they are often related. But it is also possible to get tinnitus without having hearing loss. If you are exposed to very loud noise, such as a rock concert or an explosion, you might experience temporary ringing in the ears. And certain other medical conditions or use of medications can cause tinnitus as well. Even if you dont think you have hearing loss, it is still worth getting checked out by a hearing healthcare professional.
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What’s Tinnitus What Causes Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a problem characterized by ringing, swishing, or other noises that appear to be originating inside the ear or head. Not normally a dangerous or serious problem, tinnitus is generally a symptom of some other primary condition and most usually considered a nuisance. Grow older-related hearing problems, ear injury, international objects in the ears, and circulatory method problems, for example, might cause the condition.
Tinnitus may be subjective or objective. In subjective tinnitus, simply the patient can pick up the noises. In objective tinnitus, a physician may hear the disturbance while doing an examination.
Tinnitus tends to boost with direct remedy or treatment of an underlying cause. Though it seldom progresses into a serious issue, the condition is related to fatigue, stress, sleeping problems, concentration difficulty, memory problems, anxiety, irritability and depression.
How Do Doctors Diagnose It
Hearing loss can be difficult to diagnose in infants and babies because they haven’t yet developed communication skills. All babies are screened before they leave the hospital to see if they have hearing loss. Sometimes parents may begin to notice that the baby doesn’t respond to loud noises or to the sound of voices, or has a delay in speech.
Certain symptoms in teens should prompt a trip to the doctor. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, you should let your parents or doctor know if:
- You feel that people mumble or that their speech is not clear, or you hear only parts of conversations when people are talking.
- You often ask people to repeat what they said.
- Friends or family tell you that you don’t seem to hear very well.
- You don’t laugh at jokes because you miss too much of the story.
- You need to ask others about the details of a class or meeting you attended.
- People say that you play music or your TV too loudly.
- You can’t hear the doorbell or telephone.
The doctor will do an ear exam and, if necessary, refer someone with these symptoms to an audiologist, a health professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating hearing problems. The audiologist will do various hearing tests that can help detect where the problem might be.
A person may also need to see an otolaryngologist , a doctor who specializes in ear, nose, and throat problems.
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What Are Researchers Doing To Better Understand Tinnitus
Along the path a hearing signal travels to get from the inner ear to the brain, there are many places where things can go wrong to cause tinnitus. If scientists can understand what goes on in the brain to start tinnitus and cause it to persist, they can look for those places in the system where a therapeutic intervention could stop tinnitus in its tracks.
In 2009, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders sponsored a workshop that brought together tinnitus researchers to talk about the condition and develop fresh ideas for potential cures. During the course of the workshop, participants discussed a number of promising research directions, including:
Can Tinnitus Be Prevented Or Avoided
To prevent tinnitus or keep it from getting worse, avoid long-term exposure to loud noises and activities that put you at risk for hearing loss. If you know youre going to be around loud noises, take precautions by wearing earplugs or earmuffs. If you listen to music through headphones, keep the volume low.
If you have tinnitus, avoid things that seem to make it worse. These may include nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine.
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Auditory Pathways And Tinnitus
Sound waves travel through the ear canal to the middle and inner ear, where hair cells in part of the cochlea help transform sound waves into electrical signals that then travel to the brain’s auditory cortex via the auditory nerve. When hair cells are damaged by loud noise or ototoxic drugs, for example the circuits in the brain don’t receive the signals they’re expecting. This stimulates abnormal activity in the neurons, which results in the illusion of sound, or tinnitus.
Teens Loud Music And Possible Future Hearing Problems
One study found that out of 170 teenagers, over half had experienced tinnitus in the previous year. Research has proposed that potentially risky leisure habits, such as listening to loud music on personal devices, could trigger tinnitus.
However, the investigators found that those who were prone to tinnitus tended to keep their music volume down, suggsting they may already have a hidden susceptibility to hearing loss in the future.
They propose monitoring for tinnitus and a low tolerance for loud noise from an early age, as these could be early signs of future hearing loss.
Tinnitus is a common problem in the general population, especially among those with certain risk factors.
These include:
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Signs And Symptoms Of Tinnitus
Youve likely experienced tinnitus before. Nearly everyone has, even if it was just for a short time, such as that ringing or hum you hear after attending a loud workout class or concert. Tinnitus that lasts longer than six months is called chronic tinnitus.
Tinnitus is common and affects about one in every six people. Its more common for people 55 and older, but young people can experience it, too.
There are two types of tinnitus:
Its important to note that tinnitus, by definition, isnt a disease or a condition. Instead, its a symptom of something else thats happening in the body . In rarer cases, tinnitus can be a side effect of a medication.
Tinnitus isnt a disease. Rather, its a sign that somethings wrong in the auditory system.
Myth: Hearing Aids Wont Help With Tinnitus
The truth is that is that new developments in hearing aid technology can address both hearing loss and symptoms of tinnitus by increasing the sounds of external noise, thereby masking the internal sounds of tinnitus. This is known as “masking.” Advances have been made in sound therapy with great success, for example. Other ways to manage the symptoms include meditation, stress management techniques and changes in diet and exercise. See a hearing care professional that specializes in tinnitus to talk about your options.
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How Can Noise Damage Our Hearing
To understand how loud noises can damage our hearing, we have to understand how we hear. Hearing depends on a series of events that change sound waves in the air into electrical signals. Our auditory nerve then carries these signals to the brain through a complex series of steps.
Stereocilia perch atop sensory hair cells in the inner ear.
: Yoshiyuki Kawashima
Where Can I Find Additional Information About Mnire Disease
NIDCD maintains a directory of organizations that can answer questions and provide printed or electronic information on Ménières. Please see the list of organizations at www.nidcd.nih.gov/directory.
Use the following keywords to help you search for organizations that can answer questions and provide printed or electronic information on Ménières disease:
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How Do You Get Rid Of Energetic Cords To Ease Ringing In Your Ears
Many energy workers will suggest that you cut the cords using visualization tools. However, in my experience, this is only a temporary solution to the problem. When someone can energetically cord you, it means that they have matching energy that is in resonance with some of your own energy.
In the world of energy healing and psychic knowledge, these are called matching pictures. Essentially, you and the other person have equally resonating energy that can allow a connection to be established.
This could be the same energy resulting from similar belief systems or similar traumas that you both experienced from relationships. Whatever the reason, energy will always find like energy to keep flowing: that is the law of attraction and energetic movement.
In order to clear the energetic cords once and for all, you have to clear the matching energy that you have with that person. This can bring up a lot of uncomfortable energy, so you should always seek out training or get the help of a professional intuitive counselor/spiritual advisor; however, there are simple and gentle techniques that you can do at home to get you started.
Please remember to say gentle and at my own pace. When Spirit begins to move things around, it is always helpful to set parameters and boundaries, as things can begin to happen fast, which can put you in a healing crisis.
It is best to do this while meditating, and it may take multiple times for you to start noticing the difference.
How Is Tinnitus Diagnosed
Your doctor will discuss your medical history. Theyââ¬â¢ll ask about any medicines you take, including supplements. Theyââ¬â¢ll do a hearing test, examine your head and neck, and look inside your ears. They might ask you to clench your jaw, move your eyes, and move your neck, arms, and legs. If the ringing gets worse when you move, that may help find a cause for it. You may also need imaging tests like CT or MRI scans.
Your doctor may not be able to find the cause. If that happens, theyââ¬â¢ll work with you to find ways to lessen the sound or help you manage it better.
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The Labyrinth In Relation To The Ear
The labyrinth is composed of the semicircular canals, the otolithic organs , and the cochlea. Inside their walls are thin, pliable tubes and sacs filled with endolymph.
NIH/NIDCD
The symptoms of Ménières disease are caused by the buildup of fluid in the compartments of the inner ear, called the labyrinth. The labyrinth contains the organs of balance and of hearing . It has two sections: the bony labyrinth and the membranous labyrinth. The membranous labyrinth is filled with a fluid called endolymph that, in the balance organs, stimulates receptors as the body moves. The receptors then send signals to the brain about the bodys position and movement. In the cochlea, fluid is compressed in response to sound vibrations, which stimulates sensory cells that send signals to the brain.
In Ménières disease, the endolymph buildup in the labyrinth interferes with the normal balance and hearing signals between the inner ear and the brain. This abnormality causes vertigo and other symptoms of Ménières disease.
Symptoms To Watch For During Home Treatment
if any of the following occur during home treatment:
- Symptoms develop that are related to nerve damage, such as loss of coordination or numbness or weakness on one side of the face or one side of the body.
- Other symptoms develop, such as significant hearing loss, vertigo, loss of balance, nausea or vomiting.
- Tinnitus localizes to one ear.
- Hearing loss becomes worse after an ear injury, or tinnitus or hearing loss does not improve.
- Tinnitus continues for more than a week.
- Your symptoms become more severe or more frequent.
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Alternative And Complementary Therapies For Tinnitus
More and more, people are turning to nondrug treatment approaches to help them manage their health conditions, and tinnitus is no exception.
Relaxation therapy by allowing people to better manage the stress and anxiety associated with tinnitus can help many people with the condition. While relaxation treatment does not make the tinnitus go away, it can help people ignore it and feel less distressed by its presence. Research has also found that mindfulness practices, especially when coupled with CBT, can also help reduce the distress and distraction associated with tinnitus.
Hypnosis and acupuncture are two complementary therapies that come up frequently in the tinnitus literature. Unfortunately, the research to date on both of these treatments has been underwhelming. So far, theres no good evidence that either works for people with tinnitus.
The practice of mindfulness has been associated with benefits like stress reduction.
What Tinnitus Sounds Like
Youre most likely to experience tinnitus as a high-frequency tone.
But there is certainly variation, not only in the tone but in the volume, says Rubinstein.
And while there is variation in how people experience tinnitus, it is almost universally unsettling.
If you produce a sound that is matched in quality to someones tinnitus, you would find it annoying, says Rubinstein.
Rubinstein is right about that: You can hear how people experience tinnitus in this video, courtesy of the British Tinnitus Association.
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Could You Have Tinnitus
How do you know if you have it? Your doctor will make the final call, but you can ask yourself these questions.
Do you hear a noise that people around you don’t hear? When you have tinnitus, you’re the only one who notices the ringing, buzzing, or other noise. Other people don’t.
Do you take medication? More than 200 drugs can cause tinnitus, especially when you start or stop taking them. These include pain relievers like ibuprofen or naproxen, as well as certain antibiotics, diuretics, aspirin, and chemotherapy medicines.
The form that tinnitus takes can vary, depending on the drug and its dose. Don’t stop taking a medication without talking to your doctor first.
Are you around loud sounds? Lots of blaring noises where you live or work can cause hearing loss that triggers tinnitus. Those sounds could include roaring machines, lawn equipment, concerts, and sporting events.
Tinnitus can build up over the years or stem from a single loud event, like an engine backfire. Stay away from loud noises if you can. If you can’t, wear ear protection. And turn that music down.
Do you have a cold or ear infection? Congestion, along with ear and sinus infections, can cause pressure to build up in your inner ear. The same thing can happen if you have too much ear wax. That pressure can cause tinnitus.
Treating the cause should ease your symptoms. But long-term blockage sometimes leads to having the hearing condition permanently.
What Research Does The Nidcd Support On Sudden Deafness
Since so little is known about the causes of most cases of SSHL, researchers are considering different types, risk factors, and causes of SSHL. For instance, researchers are studying how changes in the inner ear, such as disrupted blood flow or inflammation, may contribute to hearing loss. Researchers are also testing new ways to use imaging to help diagnose SSHL and potentially detect its causes.
NIDCD-funded researchers are also trying to improve ways of dispensing drugs into the inner ear by intratympanic injections. Scientists are developing ways to infuse drugs into tiny microspheres that can slowly release the drug. This would allow doctors to give a single injection of a slow-releasing drug into the ear rather than several injections of a traditional fast-releasing drug. Another team of scientists is studying the use of magnets to push drug-infused particles into and throughout the inner ear, distributing the drug more evenly and effectively. Visit the NIH Clinical Research Trials and You website to read about these and other clinical trials that are recruiting volunteers.
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The Mysterious Spiritual Meaning Of Ringing In Your Ears
When I began my spiritual development journey, I had many bizarre things happen to me. One of these things was a periodic ringing in my right ear. It always happened right when I had a feeling of deja vu, or after long meditation or intuitive reading session. I began to wonder, is this ringing in my ears a spiritual sign?
So, what is the spiritual meaning of ringing in your left or right ear? The spiritual meaning of ringing in your ears is a sign that you are energetically sensitive, and aware of the subtle energetic shifts that are happening in your physical and etheric bodies. It is often a sign that you have clairaudient or clairsentient abilities, and are able to discern information from the energetic exchanges around you.
There are different meanings of ringing in ears depending on which ear is ringing, the tone of the ringing, and how often your ears are ringing. This article will discuss the various meanings of ringing in your ears so that you can tell if the ringing in your ears is a spiritual sign.
Changes In Blood Flow
Changes in blood flow, such as high blood pressure or anemia, can cause ear ringing. Sometimes changes in blood flow can cause a type of ear ringing called pulsatile tinnitus, which has the sensation of your heart beating in your ears. Less commonly, pulsatile tinnitus can also be caused by tumors in or around the ear.
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Other Diseases & Medical Conditions
- Tinnitus is a reported symptom of the following medical conditions:
- Metabolic Disorders: Hypothyroidism, Hyperthyroidism, Anemia
- Autoimmune Disorders: Lyme Disease, Fibromyalgia
- Blood Vessel Disorders: High Blood Pressure, Atherosclerosis
- Psychiatric Disorders: Depression, Anxiety, Stress
- Vestibular Disorders: Ménière’s Disease,Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Otosclerosis
- Tumor-Related Disorders : Acoustic Neuroma, Vestibular Schwannoma, other tumorous growths
Again, a person experiencing tinnitus should not assume that he/she has one of the medical conditions listed above. Only a trained healthcare provider can appropriately diagnose the underlying cause of tinnitus.
Why Are My Ears Ringing
Tinnitus is a sensorineural response within the auditory system and brain and is often a sign of hearing loss or damage to the ear. Damage generally occurs within the cochlea or hair cells that protect the ear. Sounds travel through the auditory nerve to reach the auditory cortex of the brain. When you hear ringing within the ear that means part of this system is not working correctly. The brain does not receive the sounds it expects, which stimulates the neurons to produce or imagine false sounds. Your body finds it difficult to differentiate between false and true noises.
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