by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
© December, 2011
A man asked, “I’ve begun hearing an annoying buzzing or ringing sound in my ears. What’s going on?”
The fancy name for the sounds you are hearing is tinnitus. Some people pronounce it “TIN-ih-tus” and others “tih-NYE-tus.” Either way is correct. Both are in the dictionary.
The Phantom Strikes Again
Tinnitus is the word we use to describe hearing certain phantom sounds. Tinnitus is not a disease. Rather it is generally a symptom of something wrong in your auditory system. The dictionary defines tinnitus as the sensation of noise, often ringing or roaring, in your ears that comes from inside your head in the absence of any external sound.
Since there is normally no external sound corresponding to the sounds you are “hearing,” tinnitus is truly a phantom sound. Your brain actually detects signals in your auditory system or in its own auditory circuits, and you perceive and “hear” them as real. Make no mistake about it; to you the phantom tinnitus sounds are just as real as any external sounds.
One person wrote his ear specialist, “Doctor, please confirm that this noise is not all in my head, and that I am not going mad.”
The ear specialist wrote back, “With pleasure! You are not going mad! And yes, it is all in your head, but then, so are your ears!”
What Does Tinnitus Sound Like?
There are a variety of tinnitus sounds. Many people say their ears are ringing or buzzing (mine are ringing right now as I write this-as they have for decades). These are just two of the common tinnitus sounds. Your tinnitus may be a ringing, roaring, beating, clicking, banging, buzzing, hissing, humming, chirping, clanging, sizzling, whooshing, rumbling, whistling or dreadful shrieking noise. To some people, tinnitus sounds like rushing water, breaking glass, owls hooting or chain saws running.
About half the people with tinnitus only hear one tinnitus sound at a time. However, about one quarter of tinnitus sufferers hear two tinnitus sounds at the same time. For example, Ruby heard the roar of Niagara Falls in one ear and what sounded like a broken washing machine in her other ear after taking anti-cancer drugs. To me tinnitus is usually a high-pitched ringing or whine in my ears (much like a high-speed turbine running), and less often a soft shhh sound or a low rumbling noise. Pam hears what sounds like birds chirping and occasionally an owl hooting. When Una shakes her head she hears the pure tone “F “. The rest of the time she hears what sounds like a piece of sheet metal being hammered or a constant high-pitched tone.
About 16% of the people with tinnitus hear three or more tinnitus sounds at the same time. One poor lady, Mrs. P___, used to hear what sounded like a cow bell, a door bell, a tune, a noise like rushing water and a roaring like traffic in a tunnel—all at once.
Because of the variety of tinnitus sounds, sometimes people confuse it with another class of phantom sounds (auditory hallucinations) called Musical Ear syndrome. Tinnitus is always a simple sound. In contrast, Musical Ear syndrome sounds are more complex sounds such as voices, singing or music. (Read the eerie yet fascinating account of Musical Ear syndrome.)
Tinnitus comes in a variety of sounds, volumes and patterns. You may perceive its volume as ranging from subtle to shattering!
Your tinnitus may be constant. It may come and go. In one survey, 72% experienced their tinnitus all the time, 18% heard their tinnitus frequently and only 10% had occasional tinnitus.
About half the people with tinnitus hear their tinnitus in both ears at the same time. About 10% hear it in their left ear, and another 10% hear it in their right ear. For the remainder, they just hear their tinnitus inside their head somewhere.
At times tinnitus can be just plain weird. Occasionally other people may hear your tinnitus (objective tinnitus) as a clicking sound, just like you do. This kind of tinnitus occurs when a muscle in your ear contracts making this clicking sound.
A few people have a type of tinnitus that pulses with every heartbeat (pulsatile tinnitus). This kind of tinnitus results from a (big) artery too close to your middle ear.
Perhaps the weirdest kind of tinnitus is where people can change their tinnitus by doing ordinary, everyday things such as moving their eyes (gaze evoked tinnitus), moving their jaw (temporomandibular joint—TMJ), turning their head, applying pressure to parts of their bodies or even just by bending over which increases their blood pressure—and for them, their tinnitus.
Anita once told me, “When I move my eyes side to side or up and down the pitch of my tinnitus varies with my eye movement.” Neat, huh?—until it begins to really bother you. She added, “It also varies with the muscular movement of my jaw, like when eating. Opening and closing my mouth can make the pitch of my tinnitus vary too.”
How Common Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is relatively common. At least 17 out of every 100 people around the world have some degree of tinnitus. Here in the United States, the American Tinnitus Association estimates that about 50 million Americans have tinnitus to some degree while about 12 million have tinnitus severely enough that they seek medical advice. About 2 million of these have tinnitus so bad that they cannot function normally.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease. Among the more common things that cause or trigger tinnitus are exposing your ears to loud sounds, taking various drugs, eating certain foods, hearing loss, allergies, stress and various ear conditions.
1. Loud Noise
Loud noise is the most common cause of preventable tinnitus. A study of 1,687 people with tinnitus revealed that noise exposure accounted for one out of four cases of tinnitus. Tinnitus from noise exposure and hearing loss generally go together. The American Tinnitus Association reports that up to 90% of all people with tinnitus have some level of noise-induced hearing loss. If you are around loud sounds for a while, perhaps you’ve noticed that your ears rang for a while after. This is tinnitus.
You may find that tinnitus occurs immediately after you have been exposed to a loud noise. Most often, you get mild, temporary tinnitus, but it may be permanent. The length of time your tinnitus lasts and its severity generally increases each time you expose your ears to loud noise. Finally, one day, if you continue to work, play or live around loud sounds, you may end up with permanent (and distressing) tinnitus, not to mention hearing loss.
This does not have to happen. You can protect yourself from noise-induced tinnitus. The choice is yours. All you need to do is avoid loud sounds or protect your ears from excessive noise by wearing ear protectors.
2. Prescription Drugs
The second most common cause of preventable tinnitus is from taking various prescription or non-prescription drugs. There are hundreds of these drugs in common use. My book Ototoxic Drugs Exposed lists 447 drugs (and 29 chemicals) that are known to cause tinnitus. Such drugs can either cause tinnitus in the first place, make your existing tinnitus louder or cause a new tinnitus sound.
Tinnitus usually appears first as a continuous high-pitched sound. Often tinnitus precedes or accompanies hearing loss from ototoxic drugs. In fact, tinnitus is the number one indicator that you may be doing damage to your ears. It also may be the only warning you’ll ever get. Pay attention to it! If your ears start to ring after you begin taking any drug, you should immediately report this to your doctor. You and your doctor should then decide what to do-whether to reduce the dose, change the medication or stop taking that medication altogether.
3. Certain Foods
Specific foods such as red wine, grain-based spirits, cheese and chocolate can trigger or increase tinnitus in some people. Penny finds that wine, vinegar and certain spices affect the loudness of her tinnitus. She also finds that any foods containing mold will make her tinnitus louder.
Other things to beware of include caffeine, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nicotine, alcohol, marijuana and some spices. For example, Sue finds that eating hot spices such as chili peppers, hot salsa and hot paprika make her tinnitus louder.
Some people find that just eating foods high in sugar makes their tinnitus louder.
4. Hearing Loss
Very often, hearing loss and tinnitus go hand in hand. Tinnitus does not cause hearing loss. Rather, it is the other way around. Hearing loss often results in tinnitus. The good news is that wearing hearing aids to correct the hearing loss often results in the tinnitus going away or fading into the background while you are wearing your hearing aids. Unfortunately, your tinnitus can come back at night when you remove your hearing aids to sleep.
5. Allergies
Allergies can also trigger tinnitus. Penny writes, “Allergies play a big part in the level of my tinnitus. I couldn’t walk into a library without having my tinnitus go off the charts—all because of dust.” She adds, “Many people have allergic reactions to things and don’t even know it’s allergy-related. They don’t connect what they ate with the level of their tinnitus, or what they smelled, or what plants they’re surrounded by, or if there’s mold out in their yard.”
6. Stress
Uncontrolled anxiety, stress and tension often make your tinnitus worse. Recent studies show that stress can also cause annoying tinnitus. Learning how to deal with the stress in you life can eliminate or greatly reduce tinnitus from this cause.
7. Ear Conditions
Certain ear conditions may also trigger tinnitus. For example, many people, including children, experience tinnitus along with a middle ear infection (otitis media) or a sinus infection. Generally, the tinnitus will lessen and gradually fade away once the infection clears up.
Other conditions that can trigger tinnitus include calcium build-up on the small bones in your middle ears (otosclerosis), pressure problems in the Eustachian tubes connecting your middle ears to your throat, an increase of fluid in your inner ears (Meniere’s disease) or any other condition that disturbs the fluid pressure in your inner ears. In addition, tinnitus may be caused by tumors on your auditory nerves (acoustic neuroma), changes in the hair cells of your inner ears, poor nerve function due to pressure on them from surrounding tissues, operations on or around your ears, and even such simple things as wax (cerumen) build-up, foreign bodies or swelling in your ear canals. The truth is that almost anything that can go wrong with your ears or in your auditory system can trigger tinnitus.
The Effects of Tinnitus
The impact tinnitus has on a person’s life can vary enormously. Obviously there is a major difference between mild or short lasting tinnitus and loud, severe, constant tinnitus day in and day out. Some people learn to completely ignore their tinnitus. The fancy term for this is “habituation.” For many others, tinnitus is only a mild irritation. However, for some, tinnitus is totally debilitating and disrupts their entire life. People with severe tinnitus often have problems sleeping. They may be irritable and cannot concentrate on anything other than their tinnitus. As a result, they are constantly under stress, perform poorly, and lose their joy of living. The great musician, Beethoven, once lamented, “My ears whistle and buzz continually day and night. I can say I am living a wretched life.”
What Can You Do About Tinnitus?
You do not have to let tinnitus drive you “buggy.” There are a number of ways you can help yourself control your tinnitus. I’ve touched on five of these in this article-protect your ears from loud sounds, avoid tinnitus-producing medications, avoid certain foods, get your allergies under control and reduce your stress. There are many others. Unfortunately, they require more space than an article of this nature permits. If you would like to learn more about tinnitus and the many things you can do to help bring it under control, see my book Take Control of Your Tinnitus—Here’s How. Take charge of your tinnitus. You don’t have to let these phantom sounds control you.
Occasionally I hear what seems to be like owls hooting in my right ear. I dislike it very much and gets annoying.
Hi Ty:
I understand, but you need to refuse to let yourself be upset by it, or it will only get worse.
Cordially,
Neil
I feel like birds are churping in my ears. It is driving me nuts. Loud birds chirping.
Hi Melody:
When I hear bird-like tinnitus sounds, I put a positive spin on it. I like to think there is a flock of birds twittering in the trees near me. That way I see it as a pleasant sound, rather than a negative experience. In my case the birds only twitter in my right ear, never my left ear, although both ears experience other tinnitus sounds.
Cordially,
Neil
I also hear owls in my right ear. So so annoying.
I have had tinnitus in my left ear since I was a teenager. For years it wasn’t noticeable very often. Twice in the last few months, the last being March, the tinnitus went sky high along with dizziness and nausea. Each time I did the usual keeping occupied and listening to music etc… And within about three weeks each time it settled back to its barely noticeable.
I had a breakdown in the middle of May and for several days before I cracked the tinnitus did the same as the other times. Sky high. It was mildly noticeable one day and then the day before the breakdown it rocketed.The noises are high pitch squeals and whistles at very loud levels but other lower levels too. Sometimes barely audible. I have had noise in my right ear too which I have never had problems with. ENT said my right ear was perfect last time I went. Could it be worse and lasting due to the breakdown. I have been on antidepressants Sertraline since May and right up to 200mg which did nothing but leave me feeling much the same as when I took the breakdown. I am on my fifth evening of 15mg Mirtazipine and having a rough time but I am seeing it through.
Hi Jennifer:
Stress can make tinnitus ever so much worse–and a breakdown is a result of extreme stress. Therefore, you need to get your stress under control and hopefully your tinnitus will abate at the same time.
You want to be careful about taking antidepressant drugs because they can make both the tinnitus and the depression worse or just the same as you found when you took the Sertraline.
Cordially,
Neil
I hear crickets be and frogs be and birds and roaring and high pitched ringing in both ears all the time, constantly, I just woke up like that about 6 months ago. I went to an ear specialist and she tested me and told me that I had pretty major hearing loss. I failed the hearing exam because I can’t hear anything over the other noises in my head. Is it possible to go to bed perfectly fine and wake up with severe hearing loss? I’m confused and this is driving me insane. Please help. I’m 55 by the way. Thank you
Hi Albert:
Yes, I know numbers of people that went to bed and woke up with massive hearing loss and tinnitus and often with balance problems too. Typically, what happens is one of two things. Either they had an active virus in their body at the time and it got into their inner ear or ears, and cause hearing loss overnight. Sometimes there is a bit of a warning the night before–their ears feel weird. It doesn’t have to happen at night, but most seem to happen that way. Also, mostly this happens in one ear, not both, but it can happen in both at the same time
The other reason for sudden hearing loss like that is a tiny blood clot in the arteries feeding your inner ear. These can happen day or night. And also typically only affect one ear at a time, but depending where the clot is, it can affect both ears at once. I know one lady that lost her hearing suddenly in both ears from a blood clot in her neck while she was teaching at school.
What did your doctor attribute your hearing loss to?
Contrary to popular belief, having tinnitus doesn’t stop you from hearing. You still hear through your tinnitus. But you probably don’t feel like listening to people and tinnitus at the same time if your tinnitus is particularly loud. Some people complain about not being able to detect the soft tones during hearing testing because they can’t tell them apart from their tinnitus. This is a different problem and one that is easily solved. All the audiologist has to do is change the pure tones to warble tones. I’ve never had problems with distinguishing the warble tones from my tinnitus. Also, a second best solution is to have them turn on the double tones–so you hear a beep-beep and you listen for the gap between the beeps.
How did you want me to help you?
Cordially,
Neil
Diabetes runs in my family. Could diabetes cause my tinnitus??
Hi Michael:
Yes, diabetes Type 2 and insulin resistance can definitely result in tinnitus.
Cordially,
Neil
This was a very useful article. I have recently started experiencing some hearing loss and sounds of glass jingling or crickets in my head. I have some neck problems and just assumed that was what was contributing to it. I’ve also got a lot of stress in my life as a caretaker for my mother who has Alzheimer’s.
Thank you for posting this.
I have sinutsitis. I have been sat here now for 5-10 minutes and I hear a glass like humming sound in both ears. After 3 minutes it then went to only one ear. I didn’t know about this until I’ve just sat down in a fully quiet room.
Should I tell my doctor also?
Hi Jess:
You have a low-frequency humming kind of tinnitus. Since it is so faint and doesn’t bother you, what would be the point in telling your doctor. What would you expect him to do about it? You’re better off learning to ignore your tinnitus and let it fade away as your sinuses clear.
Cordially,
Neil
I have had hearing loss and tinnitus for a number of years –
Recently, we put a door chime on our retail shop (we are craftspeople in our 70’s) and now I hear the darn bell frequently –
It just keeps ringing and ringing.. kind of feels like the sound has gotten stuck on a nerve somewhere and just keeps firing..
Fortunately, I am dealing with it. (I think)
thanks,
martha
Hi Martha:
That sounds more like Musical Ear Syndrome than tinnitus. I’ve written extensively about all sorts of weird sounds people hear. Just do a search on the Center’s website for “Musical Ear Syndrome” and you’ll learn a lot.
Cordially,
Neil
I have a very loud jet roar, single pitch in my left accompanied by a lower whistle and a higher whistle. My right ear is now whistling in sympathy and I am woken by sparrows chirping in my left ear. When I am tired I also have a low frequency rumble and the pulse one in the left. I have lost hearing in my left but apparently my hearing is improved to compensate but I have lost frequencies. The sound can be so bad its the loudest thing I hear all the time. The medical people are not interested.
Hi Steve:
You have a number of different tinnitus sounds. A low frequency rumble is actually fairly common when you are tired. I get it then too. And from time to time I get a flock of birds twittering in my right ear. Apart from that, my tinnitus is a high-pitched hissy-whine kind of sound.
What you need to do is learn how to successfully deal with your tinnitus. There are lots of things you can do. I especially recommend reading chapter 16 in my book, “Take Control of Your Tinnitus” at http://hearinglosshelp.com/shop/take-control-of-your-tinnitus-heres-how/ as it seems to be the key for many people to control their tinnitus. I’ve been doing this for years. I choose not to let my tinnitus bother me although it is there all the time I’m awake. I am now so thoroughly habituated to my tinnitus that hours can go by without my being aware I even have tinnitus. You can learn to do this too.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello! I’m a 17 year old female and I believe that I am witnessing this. I have loud metal clanking sounds in my left ear very often. Plus I constantly feel that my ears are blocked. The inside of my ears also hurt once in a while. What should I do?
Hi Micha:
If your ears feel blocked, that is often a sign that you have a hearing loss–unless, of course, your ear canals are blocked by wax, or your middle ears are clogged up from a cold or allergies.
The loud metal clanking sounds could be one of the many tinnitus sounds. Tinnitus often accompanies hearing loss, or from exposing your ears to loud sounds.
I suggest you see an audiologist and have her check your ear canals for wax, as well as do a complete audiological evaluation to see whether your middle ears are working properly and whether you have any inner ear hearing loss (sensorineural hearing loss).
Cordially,
Neil
This sounds nearly identical to my problem. I am 16 as well.
i’m only 16, and i’ve had a lot of problems with clogged ears for the past year. This morning I woke up to an occasional buzzing that sounded like metal hitting metal along with a constant ringing. Do you thing I should see a doctor?
Hi Madison:
What you need to really do is find the reason for your clogged ears and work to fix it. Perhaps your diet is such that it shoots your immune system down. (Too much sugar can do this quite easily.)
If I were you, I’d go to a doctor that is an expert in good health–such as a Naturopathic doctor (ND). He can help you get back on track to good health so your clogged ears go away.
Once your ears clear, then the tinnitus you are experiencing should also disappear.
Cordially,
Neil
Excellent article!
I have had recently this metallic ongoing ringing / sound on the right ear. It mayb stress and medications related. It is sporadic but when it appears is constant. What scared me today and made seek further info was the fact i had a nose bleed in the same side and the noise got even louder.
I thought it was a mini stroke or something like that. The bleeding stopped but not the noise. Got louder actually.
Will have a specialist check me out asap…
Thank you !
hi
if i stop taking the medication that i think has caused the second sound i hear will it stop and just go back to how it was
thanks
Hi Sally:
There is no way I can answer that. You haven’t told me anything about your situation or the drug you are talking about. For some drugs, typically that is what happens–your tinnitus reverts to its old level when you stop taking the drug. For others, the new tinnitus seems to be permanent.
If you stop the drug you are one for two weeks (with your doctor’s permission of course) and you notice a difference in your tinnitus then you’ll know it was temporary. If there is no change, it may be permanent.
Cordially,
Neil
My goodness this has happened a few times but i never realized its just in my ears. Just now we had visitors and I thought there car was screeching as they left but they were still finishing up in the kitchen. I was so embarrassed I felt crazey. As it last quite long ,its just sounds like I’m surrounded by thousands birds like I’m trapped in a cage and they just keep chirping its horrific. Now I do understand as I have hearing lost but I haven’t dealt with it for some time. So this information has really helped me feel relieved that I’m not insane and what I need to do. Thank u so much 😊
Hi Emily:
You’re welcome. Sometimes you can make friends with your tinnitus. Sometimes I hear a flock of birds twittering in my right ear. I rather like it. I imagine I’m walking down a lane and the birds are in the trees above me twittering away. Cool. But my birds are not raucous, just quietly twittering away. And just thinking about them caused my birds to return as I type this.
Cordially,
Neil
I am seventy four. I have been wearing aids in both ears for 13 years. In the past few years, when I am not wearing my devices, I have heard very loud clanging noises (like metal pieces banging together) I actually thought someone was breaking into my House. This happens only when I’m lying down. It will stop for months at a time. When I hear it now the same sound is much softer. Is there anything I should be doing ?
I can live with it but I want to be sure it can’t harm my hearing. My audiologist told me in my last exam that my ability to understand what I am hearing is down to 60 %. Are these two connected ?
Hi Andrea:
The clanging sounds you are hearing could be one of the many kinds of tinnitus sounds. Other possibilities are Musical Ear Syndrome sounds, or even hypnagogic/hypnopompic sounds. But no matter what the cause, these are all benign sounds in that they are not damaging to your ears. So I’d just ignore them. That should be easier now that they are softer–and you know they are not hurting your ears.
Your hearing discrimination at 60% means that understanding speech is getting harder and harder for you. Speechreading should help you figure out some of the ambiguous sounds so you understand more that what you would just by listening. I’ve been speechreading since as early as I can remember since I was born with a severe hearing loss.
Poor discrimination and tinnitus sounds are not directly related. However, tinnitus often accompanies hearing loss, so do discrimination problems. Since both are related to your hearing loss they are indirectly related to each other.
Cordially,
Neil
Hello, My tinnitus is very strange. It began when I went off the benzo medication Klonopin 20 months ago. It became a hundred times worse when I was given hydrocortisone soon after . And recently made worse again by antibiotics and chlorhexidine mouthwash I used for several weeks for dental work. Anyway my tinnitus is triggered by sound. If there is no sound-there is little to no tinnitus. As soon as sound waves hit my right ear- the ringing begins. Certain frequencies are worse than others. Like fans, air conditioning, driving in a car especially at fast speed. Maybe this is more hyperacusis than tinnitus? The good news is it seems to be improve every 6 months or so and was doing quite well earlier this year before I had to get dental work done and had to take toxic medications. Have you heard of this kind of T before?
Hi Evan:
What you have sounds like reactive tinnitus which is basically a combination of tinnitus and hyperacusis. You can read more about it in my article on the subject at http://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/reactive-tinnitus/ .
How fast did you taper off the Klonopin? Tapering off too fast can result in both tinnitus and hyperacusis. That’s one of the nasty things about this drug.
Cordially,
Neil
I have this clanging like sphere ball you shake inside of it are like metal pieces that makes a certain type of chimmy sound when I sneeze and when I’m not sneezing it constant sound static never ending static this started after an earache I only had for 2 days
Hi Delores:
Interesting symptoms. How long ago since your earache wen away? I wouldn’t be surprised if your weird sounds fade away as your ear “heals”.
Cordially,
Neil
Hi, yesterday my ear was buzzing, which it quite often does, then later for a few seconds it seems I heard music. Then after awhile again for a few seconds I could swear I heard voices but couldn’t make out the words.
Hi Rosemarie:
Sounds like you not only have tinnitus, but also Musical Ear Syndrome. Nothing to be worried about.
Cordially,
Neil