Ringing In Ears Blood Pressure Problems Key To Curing Tinnitus?
Is the Ringing In Ears Blood Pressure Related?
Invariably the cause of tinnitus stems from damage caused by loud noises. There area occasions where ringing in ears is blood pressure related. In fact, you may hear your heartbeat in you ear.
There are several different forms of tinnitus but, one rare form of tinnitus is known as pulsatile tinnitus. It is the type of ear noise that can be heard as a rhythmic pulsing that is often in time with your heartbeat.
You may have heard this yourself whenever you exerted yourself for a period of time and then stopped. While you recovered you may have rested your head on your arm and heard a pulsing noise. It sounded as if your heart was beating in your ears.
This ringing in ears blood pressure related tinnitus affects around 3% of tinnitus patients. Sometimes is sounds as if there is a whooshing sound or thumping in your ears.
Pulsatile tinnitus occurs when the blood vessels inside the neck or head of the patient experience an increased blood flow or a narrowing of the opening of the blood vessel itself. You may hear your blood flow in one or both ears.
Pulsatile tinnitus is not caused by damage to your cochlea of the inner ear. It is possible for one person to have both types of tinnitus, pulsatile tinnitus and inner ear damaged tinnitus. The noises are caused by different physical problems.
The underlying serious condition may be related to another physical problem namely high blood pressure which you may hear referenced as hypertension. Although hearing a ringing in the ear can be a symptom of high blood pressure, it is not a common symptom.
Typically patients with high blood pressure who are experiencing pulsatile tinnitus do not hear the pulsing noise in their ears until after they start taking blood pressure medication. On the other hand, some people hear the pulsing in their ears because their blood pressure medication resolved their high blood pressure, but then the ringing in ears was due to lower pressure in their blood vessels.
Talk to your doctor about it as pulsatile tinnitus can resolve on its own after a few weeks once you change out the medications.
Pulsatile tinnitus is most often classified as objective tinnitus, meaning that others may also hear the sound, using a stethoscope or other sophisticated equipment. Thumping, whoosing, or humming noises in your ears that is strongly associated with the timing of the heart beat may likely be caused by a blood vessel malformation of the arteries and veins of the head or neck area. These blood vessels are located adjacent to the ear on the surface of the head or just inside the head.
These cases require special imaging techniques and often require surgery to resolve. Angioplasty may be used to open a partially closed vessel. You and your doctor will need to discuss options, one of which may be simply to live with the noise. Surgery is not an option for everyone.
Summer Noises Cause Ringing Ears
Lifestyle Changes and Summer Noises – Loud Noises are the No. 1 Cause of Ringing Ears
This summer I found myself having to return back to using a gas powered mower for lawn care. As soon as I powered it up I realized that my new mower noise could causes ringing ears. It was time to find my foam ear plugs to wear during summer mowing sessions.
I never thought about the noises that come with seasonal changes contributing to ringing in the ears or hearing loss. Just think of all the possible tinnitus causing noises that occur in the summer. Here’s my list, feel free to comment and add yours.
Noisy Summer Events That Cause Ringing Ears
- Lawn mowers,
- Leaf blowers,
- Riding a motorcycle,
- Driving in heavy traffic in a convertible,
- Summer outdoor concerts,
- Parades,
- Riding high powered watercraft,
- Fireworks displays
Some of the most common sounds of summer can expose listeners to temporary or permanent tinnitus or even hearing loss. These sounds are typically within the range of 90 decibels to 140 decibels. However, any noise above 80 decibels can cause long-term hearing damage.
Are you one of the thousands traveling to Indianapolis to watch the Indy 500 auto race? I bet you are a conscientious driver and wear your seat belt to the Brickyard. Did it dawn on you to pack hearing protection for yourself and your loved ones? Hours of listening (?) to the roar of those high powered engine can lead to painful noise in the ears for you or someone in your family.
Exposing your hearing to loud noises is the leading cause of hearing loss and it definitely can cause ringing ears. Noise exposure is a nearly 100 percent preventable, with the exceptions being for those in professions where they may find themselves losing their hearing protection due to circumstances. Soldiers, fire fighters or emergency rescue professionals are some professions where hearing protection may get lost in the heat of battle.
One of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. Our lifestyles are filled with loud noises which is the most common cause of tinnitus. Unfortunately, many people are unconcerned about the harmful effects of excessively loud noise, firearms, and high intensity music.
Besides noise trauma tinnitus, can be caused by taking certain medications. Our doctors prescribe them but rarely do we hear about the side effects, like ringing ears. Other physical disorders like Meniere’s syndrome, blood pressure problems, and brain tumors can also cause tinnitus.
This summer don’t pull the plug on your outdoor fun, just put a plug in you ears and save your hearing for another day!
P.S. There are 3 food food ingredients that we use that are proven to cause ringing in the ears. Find out about these other causes and how removing them from your diet can cure tinnitus.
Ringing In Ears Symptom Pointing To Other Medical Problems
Needless to say, having constant ringing in your ears morning, noon and night is stressful. Then it follows that there is a natural connection between stress and tinnitus. Stress is just one of many conditions that lead to tinnitus. In 95% of all cases, ringing in ears is a symptom of another underlying condition.
In most cases, the ringing in the ear noises are not limited to a ringing sound. There can be a buzzing whining or popping noise like static on a radio. My father heard another sound in his ears that made him loose sleep and become depressed.
The sound can be in both ears or just one ear. Unfortunately in most cases, there is no ‘magic bullet’ treatment for tinnitus although, some people have found alternative treatments for tinnitus. These individuals have turned to natural homeopathic treatments, acupuncture, hypnosis and sometimes implants.
Ringing in the ears is also a symptom of high blood pressure. A ringing in the ears can result from having higher then normal cholesterol levels. As cholesterol gathers in blood vessels and more specifically the blood vessels near the ear, the blood pressure can become more turbulent in its effort to force through some of the deposits. If you are hearing a ringing in your ear, a simple test would be to check your cholesterol level.
A less common form of tinnitus is called Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is indicative of some sort of structural problem within the individual. What is really bizarre about this type of tinnitus is that your doctor can hear the ringing in the ear as well. You doctor can hear the noise by placing a stethoscope around the ear and the side of the you neck.
This type of tinnitus causes more of a pulsing or a rushing sound which is the patient’s own pulse that they can hear pulsing through the ear. Atherosclerosis is a more serious medical condition then the run of the mill tinnitus.
There are drugs that can cause a ringing in ears symptom. Aspirin and non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, some chemotherapy drugs and antibiotics cause ringing in the ears.
You may have suffered a head injury or have TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder) which is a misalignment of the jaw. If you ever had a concussion, closed head wound or suffered from whiplash these may all lead to the symptoms of ringing in the ears. Tumors in the skull and neck area as well as excessive ear wax can cause tinnitus.
Depression, anxiety and stress are major contributors to tinnitus. When you are under stress the chemical changes can foul up your auditory system and cause the fine hair-like transmitters to die.
Other conditions like fibromyalgia, thyroid disorders, lyme disease and vitamin deficiencies can also lead to ringing in the ears. Tinnitus sufferers often find relieve just by adding vitamin B12 to the diet.
The most common cause of ringing in ears symptoms is caused by damage to your inner ear. Occasionally this may have been caused by an illness like rubella, sinus infections, or exposure to allergens for an extended period. However the leading cause of tinnitus is that you have subjected your hearing to loud noises over an extended period of time. How loud is too loud and how long is too long is the topic of my next article.
Read on to discover the leading causes of ringing in ears.
Ringing Ears Concert Related Tinnitus
So you just went to see your favorite band in concert and it was awesome! You sang with your friends to all of their songs, you got up close and personal with some of the band members and better yet, their music sounded better than ever since it was live.
Now that you have lived through that moment, you’re realizing that your experiencing ringing ears and it won’t go away! So you turn yourself in a detective, trying to decipher what’s wrong. Is it because you were too close to the huge speakers at the concert? Well, the answer is to that question is yes!
Often times, we as humans get so caught up in the hype and excitement of life that we forget that we still need to take good care of our bodies and our ears nonetheless. Who would have thought that our ears would have been so delicate that they need protecting? Well, there are and they do which is why doctors constantly recommend that we avoid at all costs playing deafening music in our ears so as not to go deaf.
But what about tinnitus, these ringing ears you experienced during and after the concert?
Tinnitus is seen as an abnormal noise predominantly heard in the ears but is also less common in the head. It is usually associated with hearing loss as with most individuals whom have had hearing loss also expressed signs of tinnitus. So let’s decipher this appropriately. At this concert, there were high powered microphones and sound systems which were suited to audience perhaps a stadium full of people.
Being in such close proximity to these sound systems meant that your ears were being exposed to high intensity sounds. Just think of the many variations of instruments you were hearing, guitars, pianos, drums; all on different wavelengths but all volumes proportioned in order to satisfactorily please the ground. I bet there were even cases where you could not even hear yourself and had to be shouting to your friends just to say one line.
What was occurring throughout during this process in your ears is simple; the sound waves were too intense when they traveled into your ear canal. This destroyed the tiny hair cells in your ear which contributed to the ringing in your ears.
Some other contributors may have been your shouting to your friends during the concert and maybe if there was alcohol consumed that help lead to the noise in your ears too.
You might find it surprising that musicians are now champions for hearing protection. Here is what Pete Townsend has to say about tinniuts…
Pete Townshend:
“I have severe hearing damage. It’s manifested itself as tinnitus, ringing in the ears at frequencies that I play guitar. It hurts, it’s painful, and it’s frustrating.”
Musicians are using hearing protection now in the studio and during concerts. More on that in my next article. So, there you have it. Before you go to another concert, consider the damage it may cause your ears. That way you won’t be wondering why you have ringing in the ears after a concert.
Ringing of Ears and Jaw or Skull Alignment Problems
At some point in just about everyone’s life they experience some type of ringing of ears. The medical term for this condition is tinnitus. There is a perception of a sound, often ringing or buzzing, in your ears. There is no external source of the ringing. It is not a sound that other people hear, just you.
Often people think of tinnitus, or the ringing in ears, as a physical ailment. In fact, it is a symptom of a real medical condition.
The most common cause of ringing of ears is a damaged inner ear canal. Usually, the damage is caused by loud noises. If your inner ear is damaged there still may be something else going on to provoke the tinnitus.
The key component of your auditory system is called the cochlea. The cochlea contains a fluid substance and tiny hair cells. When you hear a sound, the vibrations travel down your ear canal to the cochlea. The vibration causes the fluid to move. The movement of the liquid causes the hair cells to move. The movement of the hair cells are translated into impulses that are sent to your brain. Viola! You hear sound.
How do loud noises damage these hair cells?
Think of a loud noise as if the noise was a golf club. Picture yourself swinging the club sharply through the air in order to hit the golf ball on the ground. As your golf club swing approaches the ball you may actually shear off the grass and maybe dig a divot in the turf too.
In your ear, the tiny hairs that transmit the vibrations to your brain are analogous to the grass. Loud noises(the golf club) damage your hearing by bending the tiny hair cells within the inner ear. They may even cause these hair cells to break off or ‘wilt’. When the hair cells break off, the damage to the inner ear is permanent. This leads to a lifetime of ringing of ears.
The louder and longer you subject your auditory system to loud noise, the more likely you are to damage these hair cells. That’s why people who live and work in noise filled jobs suffer from loss of hearing and ringing of ears. These people MUST wear hearing protection. Today’s musicians are using hearing protection to protect their ears from the loud noises blasting out of the amplifiers. If you noticed ringing ears after a concert, the loud music may have damaged your ears.
Head Problems Leading to Ringing of Ears
There are other things that can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. Head and neck injuries or TMJ (temperomandibular joint syndrom) cause an imbalance in the neck’s or jaws orientation. The temperomandibular joint is where your lower jaw connects to your skull.It moves up and down and sideways. If you grind your teeth, the tension can lead to tinnitus.
Similarly, when you’ve suffered a head or neck injury, the stiffness or misalignment of your spine leads to ringing of ears. It’s not fully understood, but doctors believe that the there is crosstalk between the nerves when your spine is out of line. This crosstalk leads to the sensation of noises in your ears.
Sinus Problems Can Lead to Tinnitus
Sinuses are little pockets throughout your head; 2 at the top of your nose between your eyes, 2 above your eyebrows, 2 below your eyes and one that most people don’t know about located at the base of your skull.
When your sinuses are infected there is a fluid build-up in these pockets. This can cause headaches, toothaches and migraines. If you suffer from allergies and sinus infections, they are very likely causing your tinnitus too.
You may be lucky and the ringing of ears disappears after your sinus condition clears up. For others, the noises hang around even after the infection is gone.
Tinnitus Cured Naturally With These Key Vitamins
Is it possible to have tinnitus cured? Throughout modern medical times this is a topic of much debate. Can the odd noises in your ear (s) be cured?
Many doctors are vehement that permanent damage to the inner ear is just that, permanent. They believe that there is no proof tinnitus can be cured even though many tinnitus sufferers have relief when they take certain supplemental vitamins like Niacin of vitamin B.
But what about home remedies or natural remedies that have been used in ancient cultures for centuries? Have we forgotten about those? Well, I am saying it, that this is a case where examining the past can help us heal in the future.
Before I continue, it is valid that not all types of tinnitus can be cured. After all, if your ringing in the ears is caused by a tumor or high blood pressure, it is highly unlikely that adding Niacin to your diet will cure tinnitus. However, after adding Niacin or certain vitamins to your diet you may experience some level of relief from the noise.
Many patients seek out conventional methods to cure occurrences of tinnitus,but one can never go wrong by employing natural remedies. If your tinnitus was caused by damage to your cochlea during a head injury,or excessive wax buildup in your ears, or ear infections as well as poor blood circulation in the inner ears, you can benefit from adding a natural supplement to your diet.
Usually a natural remedy has fewer side effects than conventional medications. They also don’t promote damage to other systems, like your immune system. Another advantage is that you don’t have to get a prescription when you take a natural approach to curing tinnitus.
Food types rich in vitamin B, wild oats and gingko biloba are supportive in the prevention of tinnitus. Aside from vitamins and mineral supplements, you need to investigate what you are eating and get back into an exercise reginme.
In our society, we’ve become fairly spoiled with all the pre-processed foods. So much of the good nutrients are stripped away leaving behind only minimal nutritional value. Oh, plenty of fats and sugars too.
There are studies showing that the early stages of insulin resistance is often found in tinnitus sufferers. Check out these tables to see if your diet is heavy in high foods with a high glycemic index.
If your daily diet is full of a lot of refined products, its likely your blood sugar index is rising too. Start by swapping out some of the lower glycemic index foods with your higher ones. Make a daily note on your calendar to document any change in your tinnitus. Quite often people find their tinnitus cured simply by removing the high GI foods from their diet.
When you eat a healthier diet with a lower glycemic index and complement that with regular exercise, you boost your immune system. This
helps you fight off tinnitus.
Finally, the biggest enemy in battling tinnitus is stress. It so ironic since the very condition causes you stress. The noise raises your anxiety level, makes it hard to have a conversation or concentrate, good luck sleeping…all of which feed into your stress levels. More stress leads to chemical imbalances which lead to tinnitus…round and round we go.
Tinnitus Cure Information-An Introduction
Have you ever heard of the word tinnitus before? It is a very common condition that affects nearly 40 million people in the United States. The level of aggravation that is causes people differs. In fact, most folks have no idea what the ringing in ears is called, but many search out tinnitus cure information. Indeed, if you were to conduct a survey amongst your family members, friends and colleagues, asking them what tinnitus it, I can guarantee you that only a few would know, if any at all (unless you’re surrounded by doctors).
Basically, tinnitus is a ringing, swishing or any other type of noise experienced in the ears and sometimes referred to as being heard inside one’s head. It can also be a low whining noise or a pitchy squeal. You may hear the noise in only one ear or you hear it in both ears. Some people suffer so greatly from tinnitus that it affects every hour of their lives, invading their nighttime sleep, leaving them drained for the next day.
I became rather fascinated with this ailment when my father kept complaining about a ringing in the ear that he continually experienced. Dad was losing sleep and very irritable. He insisted there was something running in the house that caused the noises in his ears. I was worried he was starting to lose it – developing dementia or Alzheimers.
He’s a smart cookie and he said that he thought the noise was related to damage to his ear that he had during World War II. I took his cue and sought after some tinnitus cure information on the Internet, in the library and eventually with doctors. We became convinced that this problem was some form of tinnitus. Naturally, we wanted to find out causes of tinnitus and how to cure tinnitus – if it could be cured.
This tinnitus is a bizarre disorder. We discovered that many people experience this ear ringing when they are in secluded or isolated areas where external noises are blocked. How unreal to be in an empty, soundless room, but suffer buzzing and ringing in your ears.
Causes can be numerous. Sometimes its due to ear infections which damages the endings of the hearing nerves. Its no joke that loud noises like those experienced during war, or in certain jobs and by exposing your ears to excessively loud noises during rock concerts damage your ear drum and nerves. I can only imagine what is happening to those who love to ramp up the volume in their boom box cars. They will have pain.
Can these noises be painful? In Dad’s case he didn’t experience physical pain, but the condition really worried us causing us anxiety and aggravation. Imagine having a dentist drill noise in your head 24 hours a day. Yes, it is very destructive to your physical health.
The noises Dad endured became unbearable at times. We decided we had to ramp up our search for tinnitus cure information anywhere. We learned that tinnitus really is a symptom of one or more disorders. Tinnitus can also be caused by aging. There are many other causes for your ringing of ears such as high or low blood pressure. It can also be caused by an allergies, a tumor, diabetes, or a thyroid problem. Then there are the drugs that cause tinnitus. Medications like anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, sedatives, antidepressants, or aspirin.
For the most part we learned that tinnitus sometimes resolves on its own over time and often even quicker once the individual knows how it came about. After all, if you are taking something that causes the ringing in the ears then stop taking it! Well, this may be easier said than done.
Now, having said all this, you probably are thinking that there is going to be some involvement with a doctor. That is for certain. You see, tinnitus is a symptom of an underlying physical disorder. If this is high blood pressure or a tumor you must engage your doctor.
As you dig deeper into the cause of your tinnitus, you may find that certain lifestyle changes and diet modifications are necessary. You have to stop feeding the tinnitus.
There is literally not a single definitive treatment for tinnitus. In more extreme cases, patients are notified that the condition is just something they will have to live with. Unfortunately, in these cases the only thing that people can do is learn to live with it.
There are other noises you can use to help you ignore the ringing in your ears. The time when tinnitus is most irritating is when there is no external noise around you – like when you go to bed – and to everyone else it is totally quiet. Except for you. You still have the noises in your ears.
During this time some people find relief when they use something to mask the noise. You can place a ticking clock within the room or play a CD with white noise or meditation tones. These sounds will help you tune out the ringing in your ears so that you can sleep.
In retrospect, there are ways in which individuals can protect themselves from the likelihood of developing tinnitus. Namely, avoiding ear cleaning utensils such as cotton swabs and Q-tips, avoiding overdue exposure to loud noise and utilizing ear plugs and hearing protection in cases where exposure to such environments are inevitable (such as working on industrial plants with vast amounts of noise pollution).
