Do You Have These Tinnitus Symptoms?

Tinnitus is a ringing in the ears. A lot of times this ringing in the ears is a sound that only you can hear. This makes it very difficult to diagnose and treat because it is so subjective. However, you can help your doctor by paying attention to the specific tinnitus symptoms you are having. Certain types of symptoms can indicate a specific cause of your tinnitus. Let’s look at a few causes of tinnitus and examine the accompanying tinnitus symptoms.

Meniere’s Disease

This is a syndrome that produces symptoms such as tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss. The cause of Meniere’s disease is still unknown. Some doctors theorize that it could be caused by a specific food allergy or an injury to the inner ear. One of the characteristic symptoms of Meniere’s disease is a feeling of ear fullness right before the other symptoms appear. The symptoms can last for one hour or several hours depending upon the severity of the disease. Occasionally the individual that has this condition can experience nausea and vomiting with the onset of symptoms.

Meniere’s disease has no cure but the symptoms can be managed through the use of medications that reduce anxiety and dizziness. Specific changes in your diet may help also.

Acoustic Neuroma

This is a benign tumor that can often produce tinnitus symptoms. This tumor will develop on the nerves of the inner ear that control balance and hearing. One of the defining symptoms of this type of tumor is having tinnitus is only one ear. But this can not be used for a definite diagnosis. Other symptoms of an acoustic neuronal include gradual hearing loss and dizziness.

It is critical that an acoustic neuroma be detected early so it can be removed when it is still quite small. If surgical intervention is delayed and the tumor is left to grow it removal will become more complicated. The tumor can grow large enough to become attached to the nerves that control facial movement, balance and hearing.

There are tinnitus symptoms that are objective meaning that others can hear the noise that you are hearing. When an individual suffers from pulsatile tinnitus the doctor may be able to hear a swishing noise through the veins in the neck. This type of tinnitus is usually caused by pregnancy, overactive thyroid, anemia or tumors.

Tinnitus symptoms do not always produce a ringing noise. Sometimes it can be a clicking sound. A lot of times this clicking sound is caused by the misalignment of the jaw joint. This licking can possibly be heard by others.

Tinnitus can be tough to live with so it is important that you pay attention to your particular tinnitus symptoms. The more information you are able to collect about your symptoms the better your chances of curing your tinnitus.