What causes temporary hearing loss and ringing?
Friday, April 24th, 2009 at
1:59 pm
What causes my one ear to sometime have a high pitch ringing, and loss of hearing for about a minute at the most? It is also slightly blocked, and has been for over 2 months.
Tagged with: high pitch
Filed under: Hearing Loss
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Ringing of the ear is called Tinnitus.
Inside your inner ear, thousands of auditory cells maintain an electrical charge. Microscopic hairs form a fringe on the surface of each auditory cell. When they're healthy, these hairs move in relation to the pressure of sound waves. The movement triggers the cell to discharge electricity through the auditory nerve. Your brain interprets these signals as sound.
If the delicate hairs inside your inner ear are bent or broken, they move randomly in a constant state of irritation. Unable to hold their charge, the auditory cells "leak" random electrical impulses to your brain as noise.
Damage to auditory cells in your inner ear most commonly results from:
Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis). This process usually begins around age 60.
Noise-related damage to your inner ear. This erosion of your hearing ability may result from excessive exposure to loud noise over a long period of time. Tractors, chain saws and weapons are common sources of noise-related hearing loss. Portable music devices, such as MP3 players or iPods, may become a common source of noise-related hearing loss in the future if people play these devices loudly for long periods.
Other causes of tinnitus may include:
Long-term use of certain medications. Aspirin used in large doses and certain types of antibiotics can affect inner ear cells. Often the unwanted noise disappears when you stop using these drugs.
Changes in ear bones. Stiffening of the bones in your middle ear (otosclerosis) may affect your hearing.
Injury. Trauma to your head or neck can damage your inner ear.
Certain disorders of your blood vessels can cause a type of tinnitus called pulsatile tinnitus. These may include:
Atherosclerosis. With age and buildup of cholesterol and other fatty deposits, major blood vessels close to your middle and inner ear lose some of their elasticity — the ability to flex or expand slightly with each heartbeat. That causes blood flow to become more forceful and sometimes more turbulent, making it easier for your ear to detect the beats.
High blood pressure. Hypertension and factors that increase blood pressure, such as stress, alcohol and caffeine, can make the sound more noticeable. Repositioning your head usually causes the sound to disappear.
Turbulent blood flow. Narrowing or kinking in a carotid artery or jugular vein can cause turbulent blood flow and head noise.
Malformation of capillaries. A condition called A-V malformation, which occurs in the connections between arteries and veins, can result in head noise.
Head and neck tumors. Tinnitus may be a symptom of a tumor in your head or neck.
So as not to cause panic. Maybe it's just a simple case of water trapped in your ear. or an infection called otitis media. It would be prudent for you to go see an EENT for proper diagnosis. and treatment. All you need might only be an ear irrigation.
Tinnitus is usually caused by a head injury, an infection, such as colds or sinus infection or sinusitis, a disease or exposure to loud sounds such as gunshots and explosions.
It can be a sign of hearing loss, or it can result from head injuries, or diseases that range from the common cold to diabetes. People who work with noisy equipment, such as power tools, can also get it. Or tinnitus may be initiated by a single loud noise, such as a gunshot or an explosion. It can also be a symptom of almost any ear disorder, including the following:
Ear infections
Blocked ear canal
Blocked eustachian tube
Otosolerosis
Tumors of the middle ear
Meniere's disease
Damage to the ear caused by drugs (such as aspirin and some antibiotics)
Hearing loss
Blast injury from a blast or explosion
Tinnitus may also occur with other disorders such as anemia, heart and blood vessel disorders including hypertension and arteriosclerosis, and low thyroid hormone levels in the blood (hypothyroidism).
A wide variety of conditions and illnesses can lead to tinnitus. Blockages of the ear due to a buildup of wax, an infection (Otitis Media), or rarely, a tumor of the auditory nerve can cause the unwanted sounds. A perforated eardrum also could be the culprit. The most common source of chronic tinnitus is prolonged exposure to loud sounds from sources such as blaring radios, gunshots, jackhammers, industrial machinery, rock concerts, etc. The noise causes permanent damage to the sound-sensitive cells of the cochlea, a spiral- shaped organ in the inner ear. A single exposure to a sudden extremely loud noise can also cause tinnitus.
In sensitive people, the mercury in common amalgam dental fillings can lead to tinnitus. The ringing could also be a signal that the body is overwhelmed with stress and work.
Temporary tinnitus can also results from loose ear hair or a fragment from a recent haircut. They get deposited close to the ear drum, vibrate and create thunderous notes.
Sinus congestion, antibiotics, aspirin, barbiturates, quinine containing medications, exposure to chemicals such as carbon monoxide from gasoline fumes or the benzene used by dry cleaners, or by excessive consumption of aspirin, alcohol, or caffeine can also results in tinnitus. In fact, tinnitus is cited as a potential side effect for about 200 prescription and nonprescription drugs. In these cases, the tinnitus usually disappears when the underlying triggers are controlled, limited, or avoided.
Exercise can cause tinnitus by disrupting the auditory system's normal function. According to the New England Journal of Medicine (February 1991), ringing in the ears may result from the jarring force of high-impact exercises.
The natural process of aging can result in a deterioration of the cochlea (hearing organ) or other parts of the ear and lead to tinnitus. Tinnitus is also associated with Meniere's disease, a disorder of the inner ear, and otosclerosis, a degenerative disease of the small bones in the middle ear. Tinnitus can also be a symptom of a disorder of the neck or jaw, such as temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ).
For reasons not yet entirely clear to researchers, stress seems to worsen tinnitus.
In your case, probably it's due to a head cold.
Hmm… Aspirin does that as does ear wax. Aspirin would have ringing for a few hours and only after you've taken it. An inner ear infection may also cause ringing, but it would usually last longer. So does meningitis, but you'd have other symptoms. That's pretty much it. You can try putting some saline solution in your ear and letting it sit for 3-5 minutes. Then, gently swab with a q-tip. If that doesn't help, see a doctor.
You could have an ear infection. Get it looked at right away !
Are you repeatedly exposed to excessively loud noise? Someone once threw a cherry bomb at my feet and the explosion caused a ringing in my one ear that lasted for days! When I went to the audiologist's for a hearing test, he told me that I had lost some of my hearing–permanently–in that ear. All because some kids were fooling around. If the ear feels as if it's underwater, you may have a middle ear infection whereby the inner ear fills with fluid. This condition will probably go away on its own with the help of daily decongestants. Also, a doctor–and only a doctor–can puncture the eardrum to relieve the pressure. Anyway, I recommend that you see a ears, nose, and throat specialist right away because some hearing defects become worse with time and are treatable if caught early.
the whispers of your angels :~)