Hair Cells and Tinnitus

Just posing a question I am wondering about....
If tinnitus is caused by loud noise , the hair cells are damaged ? This creates t?
We know that ototoxic drugs can damage hair cells too... But what about tinnitus from say high blood pressure? Can the hair cells be damaged from that too? Some peoples t comes on for no reason, I'm just wondering what goes on there, if they have not been exposed to loud noise, have no hearing loss etc....is it the same with this hair cell stuff or can something else happen? If anyone can share their thoughts it would be much appreciated.

 

It's my belief that apart from the appx 4-5% of tinnitus cases where an underlying cause can be definitely diagnosed and treated, all other suggested causes are theories. Damaged hair cells is one of them which has been widely accepted since hearing loss and tinnitus often appear together. It's still just a theory. Another theory is that it's a normal body sound which the brain for some reason fixates on. Both may be correct, but I'm sure there are a variety of other causes.

 

Most identified causes of tinnitus involve either structural damage to hair cells, physiological changes in the (essentially) cerebrospinal fluid that fills the inner ear, or damage to other cells within the inner ear that support the functioning of the hair cells.

It seems that you can induce tinnitus with damage almost anywhere in the auditory system. The middle ear is often fixable; the inner ear is usually not; the nerve and brain aren't in the line of fire and don't often serve as the cause.

This is why I discussed the spinal fluid leak in the other thread.

Jim

 

This spinal fluid leak you mention has me extremely interested as this is what my audiologist thinks is causing mine.Im seeing a neurologist in May but could this really be the cause.Ive often complained about pressure in the back of head and the feeling of water dripping on my head even when there was none.Also after my last noise exposure I had a popping sensation in the back of my head and when I moved my cheek I could hear fluid squishing behind my ear??Could this be spinal fluid??

 

I have no idea about your symptoms, Bill. A spinal fluid leak can cause tinnitus by causing a drop in pressure within the inner ear. The pressure change itself can create a sort of phantom noise directly. The pressure change can also affect the physiology within the inner ear, which can cause more permanent changes to show up a bit later.

Cerebrospinal fluid pressure changes that affect the inner ear often also affect hearing and balance.

 

Thank you I appreciate your response jchinnis.Will find out in May one way or another after neurologist visit although im not getting my hopes up.

 

I know the difference to the noise I hear when I was leaking csf, it was like a generator noise and everything was in echo that I heard . With a blood patch this all resolved. The tinnitus now Is very different. In my ears not in head, and white noise as well as buzzing and morse code