Tinnitus refers to the abnormal sounds which one may hear.
These sounds stem from within the brain and are not produced by an external stimulus.
These sounds differ in their frequency from person to person who may be subjected to tinnitus.
The types of sounds that a patient may hear may be tonal or a ringing in the ear, pulsatile or pulsating, buzzing, hissing, whistling and even roaring sounds.
Sometimes the patients may even complain of a beeping sound.
There are instances when the tinnitus sounds are audible not only the patient but also to others.
This is referred to as objective tinnitus in medical parlance.
It is quite rare as compared to subjective tinnitus, which can be heard by the patient only.
Symptoms of tinnitus may occur as a symptom of an underlying cause such as Meniere's disease.
Due to the annoying sounds the patient gets distracted, especially at times when he needs to concentrate.
During daytime, the tinnitus gets cloaked due to the other sounds such as those of traffic, television etc, to some extent.
However, these sounds become too obvious at night.
The following symptoms of tinnitus may be noticed by the patient: 1.
Different kinds of sounds such as ringing, roaring, humming etc are experienced by the patient.
2.
The patient may find it difficult to sleep 3.
They may experience a feeling of fullness in their ears.
4.
Headaches may follow too due to the constant stress and the struggle the patient has to go through to cope with the situation.
5.
Depression sets in and it is difficult to make out whether it is an offshoot of the tinnitus condition or existed prior to it.
6.
The way the patients react to such symptoms of tinnitus plays major role in determining their condition.
If the patient allows tinnitus to get the better of him or her, this surrender may lead to anxiety and other stress related disorders.
7.
Dizziness is also associated with this condition 8.
Exposure to blaring noises or music as in concerts may lead to a hearing loss which subsequently results in the ringing sounds in the ears.
9.
A misalignment in the jaw bone may trigger a kind of clicking sound in the inner ear.
10.
Underlying causes such an anemia, high blood pressure etc may lead to a whooshing sound in the ears.
11.
The presence of a tumor which presses down on the blood vessels in the ears results in pulsating Tinnitus.
12.
Tinnitus is just one ear may result from a tumor on the nerve which transmits signals from the ear to the brain's aural processing center.
This condition referred to as acoustic neuroma should be treated without any delay.