Ear Noise

Ear noise

       All over the medical world, there is one common piece of knowledge about the auditory apparatus: if your patient hears strange, inexplicable ear noises, then he or she suffers from tinnitus. There have been many who have tried to offer a definition for this illness. They have said it is not an illness, merely a symptom of something else. Some have claimed that it is incurable, others that its cause is merely hard to pin down. But every single one of the people who have studied it (medics, researchers, scientists), along with those who suffer from annoying ear noises have agreed that it can be ironically nicknamed "the musical condition".

       However, there is nothing musical, soothing or pleasing in the ear noises the tinnitus patients hear. They range from whooshing, thumping, shrilling, piercing to down right debilitating. The ear noises are constant (in constant tinnitus, usually the easiest form to handle and also the quietest), intermittent (typically, these kinds of sounds are the debilitating ones because they strike when you expect them less, having been triggered by external factors) or rhythmical (while you can call these sounds constant, they are symptoms of a completely different kind of tinnitus, the so called pulsatile form).

       Some medical doctors claim that while tinnitus is annoying, it is not life threatening. This is a true statement, to a point. If you take into consideration the fact that other specialists say that tinnitus is not a disease, but merely a symptom of a much larger and bothersome condition, a patient must learn to monitor his or her own ear noises so as to inform their attending physician of any peculiar change.

       The best example of an ear noise being used as an initial diagnostic tool is the rhythmic one. It indicates, as stated above, that the patient suffers from pulsatile tinnitus. This form of tinnitus is in direct relation to the cardiac muscle and the circulatory system, actually measuring the systolic pulse. If at any point, the noises in your ear do not perfectly match your heartbeat, then you should know that you have a far more serious problem than tinnitus. There have been reports of patients being able to announce their medics about such modifications, who, in turn, have stopped heart attacks or coronary attacks.

Other ear noises

       While most ear noises are caused or causing tinnitus, there are some sounds that indicate completely different diseases:

• Earache: a low, vibrating sound, extending to the throat area;
• Ear infection: a jingling, almost water-like, fine sound that stops once you are immobile;
• Fluid in the ear: the sensation of a "full ear canal" and diminishing hearing acuity;
• Anemia: ringing in the ears;
• Loud noise exposure: thumping, whooshing, ringing in your ears for a limited amount of time;
• Heart murmur: if you do not suffer from pulsatile tinnitus, you should not hear this. If you do, contact your medic immediately.
• Auditory nerve tumor (neuroma): ringing in one ear.

Six different methods of decreasing ear noises

       It doesn't really matter what causes ear noises or what they point to if you do not learn how to live with them or decrease their level:

• Lessen the aspiring dose: medics are not sure why or how aspirin influences tinnitus, but you should know that if you take a smaller dose, the noises should drop in intensity.
• Stop smoking: the nicotine in your favorite cigarettes acts like a stimulant, forcing the auditory nerve to react to everything and anything. It might make your reflexes sharper, but it can also lead to hearing problems.
• No more caffeine: just as nicotine, it is a stimulant in every shape, form or package it present itself in. So, stop drinking coffee and juices.
• Better hygiene: a lot of the tinnitus patients have lousy ear hygiene. Wash your ears regularly to stop the wax from forming and, therefore, blocking your ear canal.
• Avoid loud sounds: no sitting next to the speakers at a concert for you. Loud sounds only irritate the auditory nerve and deepen your tinnitus.
• Buy a masking device: but not before you test it. They don't work on everyone.