Complete List of Causes of Tinnitus

[George]

After doing some research on the internet, it seems that the main causes of tinnitus are well known.

1- Ear wax and or blockages
2- Certain drugs - mainly aspirin
3- The natural aging process
4- Meniere's disease
5- Otosclerosis
6- High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, circulatory problems, anemia, under-active thyroid gland, diabetes.
7- Neck and jaw problems

I wonder if anyone can add other specific known causes to the list. My understanding is that all the above conditions are - in one way or another - treatable (with the exception of 3).. If the underlying cause is treated, does tinnitus usually stop? or is the damage permanent?

 

[dan]

8- Sensorineural Hearing Loss

 

[Mr. Cartman]

Tensor tympani syndrome

http://tinnitus.org/Tensor tympani syndrome_Klochoff.pdf

 

[Kathi]

I believe that stress and anxiety triggered my T--I think I may have already had it and wasn't aware (I had two other short occasions where I noticed T for a few minutes but it went 'back under' spontaneously) or if they can cause it. I have had age related hearing loss of ultra high frequency--the loss is almost minute for a couple of years but I didn't get T until November of 2013 after a period of enormous personal stress and anxiety.

 

[Grace]

Noiseeee exposure!!!! Number 1 cause probably!

 

[Saif]

I have both, diabetes and high blood pressure . :'(
Still young for these shit.
FML.

 

[Grace]

After doing some research on the internet, it seems that the main causes of tinnitus are well known.

1- Ear wax and or blockages
2- Certain drugs - mainly aspirin
3- The natural aging process
4- Meniere's disease
5- Otosclerosis
6- High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, circulatory problems, anemia, under-active thyroid gland, diabetes.
7- Neck and jaw problems

I wonder if anyone can add other specific known causes to the list. My understanding is that all the above conditions are - in one way or another - treatable (with the exception of 3).. If the underlying cause is treated, does tinnitus usually stop? or is the damage permanent?

T is too mysterious to say if a cause is treated that the T will stop. For some it does, for some it wont. But in the future all T will be treated no matter the causeee then we dont gotta worry bout it nooo more! It would be so nice to go to a concert get t and then go to the doc and they give you an antibiotic or something that gets rid of it... Im thinkin thats what it will be likeee or something like that.

 

[michela]

Noiseeee exposure!!!! Number 1 cause probably!

i was actually VERY surprised that he forgot that CAUSE NO. 1 !

 

[Grace]

i was actually VERY surprised that he forgot that CAUSE NO. 1 !

Yeah lol my friend was tellin me
A story how he participates in these war reinanctments on a big feild and that even tho everyone wears earplugs and stuff that by the time its over everyones ears are ringin loudly... And my friend does these things few times a month so im like be careful! And he doenst seem to care hes like oh well with me the ringing always goes away! Im like yeah until one time it doesnt....

 

[Raytr]

If I knew about tinnitus before I got it I swear I would plug my ears for life

 

[Martin69]

I believe that stress and anxiety triggered my T--I think I may have already had it and wasn't aware (I had two other short occasions where I noticed T for a few minutes but it went 'back under' spontaneously) or if they can cause it. I have had age related hearing loss of ultra high frequency--the loss is almost minute for a couple of years but I didn't get T until November of 2013 after a period of enormous personal stress and anxiety.

Same for me. Maybe I had T before, but never noticed it.
In October 2013 I had some kind of breakdown after stress for longer time.
This brought a crazy-loud T into my head. I have reduced my stress, but T is still there.
Anxiety is less, but depression is also still there.
I have age-related hearing loss, but stress was finally the trigger.

 

[Samir]

Tensor tympani syndrome

http://tinnitus.org/Tensor tympani syndrome_Klochoff.pdf

I don't think TTTS counts as a cause of tinnitus. Tinnitus may rather be a component of it, or the two may not be related at all.

I am relating to subjective tinnitus now. I am not exactly sure what kind of tinnitus Ingmar Klockhoff was referring to. There is this thing they call "objective tinnitus". My understanding is that this type of tinnitus is of muscular origin, such as in TTTS, or of vascular origin.

From the linked PDF document:

It is clinically very fruitful to know the tensor tympani syndrome:
There are patients with vertigo handles as cases of "too low blood pressure", who have in fact the tensor tympani syndrome.

Moreover, tonic tensor phenomena are not infrequently found in Ménière's disease. In such cases it is difficult to judge whether symptoms such as tinnitus, fullness and dysequilibrium are due to the inner ear disease or are components of the tensor tympanic syndrome, and the vertigo, apart from the intense rotatory attacks, may to a large extent be a "central tension dizziness".

As regards headache problems the recording of a tonic tensor phenomenon implies presence of tension headache- Several patients have been found to be misdiagnosed as cases of migraine, nasal sinus trouble, cervical rhizopathia, etc. - diagnoses that might have been correct in the past and sometimes found to be still relevant but no longer the main causes.

I think I have read in another text that Klockhoff was pointing out that it's this muscular activity that some patients have described as tinnitus. When you think about it, this is probably what he means by "clinically very fruitful to know" about TTTS.

But does this muscular activity count as "tinnitus"? I think not, and I don't think this is what the original poster here meant by "tinnitus". This counts as "objective tinnitus". But the poster most likely meant "subjective tinnitus". In most contexts, it's understood that you mean subjective tinnitus when you say just "tinnitus". The category of "objective tinnitus" came later I believe.

 

[Joanne Philps]

I got mine from a plane journey, I did a 4 1/2 hour flight September 17 th 2016, usual crackling and blocking during take off and landing I've always had, no problem off the plane and went about my day, then 5 th October another 4 1/2 hour flight, got off the plane now tinnitus 24/7 and balance problems 24/7, practically housebound now through fear of falling over and tinnitus at a volume I wouldn't have thought possible!

 

[Candy]

Sounds more like cochlear hydropos @Joanne Philps?

 

[Joanne Philps]

Thank you Candy, but the ENT ( a junior one I think) without examing me or so much as looking in my ears firstly said labyrinthitis , then Ménière's , medication didn't work , symptoms still the same so next on his list ( of things to fob you off with) is vestibular migraine, have had MRI scan 9/3/17 don't know what the results were but am due to see a senior ENT 13/4/17 perhaps he will have news but I'm not holding my breath and then a balance test on 20/4/17

 

[glynis]

@Joanne Philps ,
What medications have you tried ?

Love glynis

 

[Joanne Philps]

Hi, Glynis, apart from nasal sprays over the counter, the prescription meds are betahistine (Serc 16) then Cinnarizine , then propanodol , now back on Serc, nothing makes a different screeching tinnitus very loud 24/7 and unable to walk without feeling like I'm on a bouncy castle or ten bottles of wine!

 

[glynis]

You can take serf 16 and up to 6 Constantine 15mg a day.....
The ENT might offer steroid injections in the ear or gent injections.
I totally understand as I have menieres ,

Love glynis

 

[Binyamin]

After doing some research on the internet, it seems that the main causes of tinnitus are well known.

1- Ear wax and or blockages
2- Certain drugs - mainly aspirin
3- The natural aging process
4- Meniere's disease
5- Otosclerosis
6- High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, circulatory problems, anemia, under-active thyroid gland, diabetes.
7- Neck and jaw problems

I wonder if anyone can add other specific known causes to the list. My understanding is that all the above conditions are - in one way or another - treatable (with the exception of 3).. If the underlying cause is treated, does tinnitus usually stop? or is the damage permanent?

Diabetes can cause tinnitus? Can someone explain?

 

[Parfait]

My noise induced tinnitus was massively worsened by taking iron supplements, which also gave me hyperacusis and hearing loss. I could never have imagined the horror it caused to my ears.

I don't think you mentioned ear trauma such as cotton buds or toys etc damaging the inner/outer ear

 

[Samir]

I don't think you mentioned ear trauma such as cotton buds or toys etc damaging the inner/outer ear

How could cotton swabs cause tinnitus?

 

[Candy]

How about looking into what treatment is available for hydrops and asking ENT?

 

[Sam Bridge]

How could cotton swabs cause tinnitus?

If you ram it hard through your ear drum maybe? Other than that I don't think so.

 

[Parfait]

If you read the stories on here you'd believe the cotton swabs can def cause t. Only when jamming in too far. I also think it is possible that overuse of ear plugs could cause tinnitus though I'm unsure of the mechanism behind that- pressure changes in the ears possibly.

 

[Samir]

If you ram it hard through your ear drum maybe?

You are right of course! I didn't think of that.

I heard dr. Robert Jackler talk about this. I don't know if he was joking, but he mentioned that people can slip and fall, pushing the cotton swap all the way through.

I did push the cotton swab a little too much a couple of times when I was a teenager. It would trigger the gag reflex, especially when I did that in the left ear. It's interesting because my left ear is the bad ear. But I never pushed it all way through. I'm not sure if or how that would have damaged my inner ear on that side.

One crazy way cotton swabs might cause hearing loss is by pushing in earwax instead of pulling it out. I think this is one of the problems with cotton swabs. Especially for people with narrow ear canals. Then it gets stuck inside, and your ear becomes deprived of sounds. This sound depravation, according to research, can cause neurons to change behavior. Which might cause them to start firing more rapidly, possibly causing tinnitus. But I would expect this to go back to normal once you have cleaned out your ears. (Unless of course you damage your ears while syringing them at the doctor's office. Which is probably more likely to cause tinnitus than cotton swabs.)

My ear canals are clean as whistles. I stopped using cotton swabs ages ago.

I suppose it is plausible that cotton swabs can cause tinnitus, by sound deprivation, i.e. conductive hearing loss. But I admit that this theory is "way out there"!

 

[Contrast]

You can actually say all causes of tinnitus modify the auditory brain regions in some way.

Hearing loss (Sensori-Neural, Ear Wax, conductive)
TMD (neck/jaw problems)
Cervical issues (possibly the same as TMD)
TBI/ (Brain Injury) or brain tumor
possibly more unknown causes

Pusatile tinnitus isn't even tinnitus it's an unrelated vascular condition
they should change the name to avoid confusion.

 

[Contrast]

After doing some research on the internet, it seems that the main causes of tinnitus are well known.

1- Ear wax and or blockages
2- Certain drugs - mainly aspirin
3- The natural aging process
4- Meniere's disease
5- Otosclerosis
6- High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, circulatory problems, anemia, under-active thyroid gland, diabetes.
7- Neck and jaw problems

I wonder if anyone can add other specific known causes to the list. My understanding is that all the above conditions are - in one way or another - treatable (with the exception of 3).. If the underlying cause is treated, does tinnitus usually stop? or is the damage permanent?

Well your not to good at classifying things and realizing that five of them could all be put under the umbrella category "hearing loss"' and one of them isn't even actual tinnitus but rather a vascular condition
and all of them except most of 6- could be listed to cause changes in the audiotory brain.

1- Ear wax and or blockages (temporary hearing loss from blockage)
2- Certain drugs - mainly aspirin (hearing loss from ototoxicity)
3- The natural aging process (hearing loss from aging) (Presbycusis)
4- Meniere's disease (hearing loss that shifts from a vestibular/cochlear malfunction)
5- Otosclerosis (conductive hearing loss from bone disease of the 3 tiny bones in the middle ear)
6- High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, circulatory problems, anemia, under-active thyroid gland, diabetes. (not tinnitus it's a seperate vascular condition with a pseudo name)
7- Neck and jaw problems (TMD/TMJ) possibly hearing loss and more complications listed below)

 

[Contrast]

My understanding is that all the above conditions are - in one way or another - treatable (with the exception of 3).. If the underlying cause is treated, does tinnitus usually stop? or is the damage permanent?

Usually yes, but it appears some few exceptions exist. The exceptions cannot be ignored. I'd love to know why few cochlear implant recipients do not have tinnitus reduction but the majority do.
http://www.tinnitusjournal.com/articles/can-cochlear-implants-decrease-tinnitus.pdf

 

[glynis]

Ear infections
Gut problems ??
Hereditary
Sinus problems

 

[David077]

Sinus problems

My previous doc said if sinusitis can cause tinnitus, he'll give me their doc license and resign.