What Is the Clicking in My Ear…Should I Be Concerned?

Are you experiencing crackling, buzzing, ringing, static, or clicking in the ear sound? If so, it could be that your hearing aid batteries need to be changed. But if you’re experiencing clicking in the ear and you don’t wear hearing aids, it could be an indicator of tinnitus. In either case, the team at North Shore Hearing P.C. can help. 

At North Shore Hearing P.C., we’ve been helping people from all walks of life take control of their hearing for over two decades. We offer a range of specialized hearing solutions that can be tailored to your unique situation. 

And one of the most common questions we receive from our clients is “What is the clicking sound in my ear?”…and “Is it serious?” Let’s take a closer look at tinnitus – the most common cause of the clicking sound in the ear.

What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is an abnormal ear noise that can arise in the outer ear, inner ear, middle ear, or in the nerve that runs from your brain to your inner ear. To be clear, tinnitus is not a disease, but rather a symptom of something wrong in the auditory system. In addition to ringing ears and clicking in the ears, people suffering from tinnitus often experience:

• Decreased hearing
• Problems sleeping
• Elevated levels of stress
• Depression
• High levels of anxiety

If you are experiencing hearing loss, high-pitched continuous sounds, clicking in the ear, or ear throbbing, you could be suffering from tinnitus.

What Causes Tinnitus and Clicking in the Ear?

A common culprit of tinnitus is earwax buildup. If earwax accumulates and touches your eardrum, it can prevent it from functioning properly. Although this can happen naturally, earwax buildup is often attributed to improper cleaning of the ear. 

For example, people who use Q-tips often force the ear wax deeper into the ear canal, causing it to become compacted. However, you should never insert a Q-Tip or any other foreign object into your ear. If you do need to clean your ears, it’s imperative you know the safe earwax removal methods. Additional causes of tinnitus include: 

• Sinus and ear infections
• Aging
• Trauma
• Otosclerosis
• Muscle Spasms
• Thyroid abnormalities
• Hormonal changes in women
• Tumors

Before assuming the worst, it’s important to consider all the options and consult with an audiologist about what you are experiencing. Sometimes, tinnitus is one of the first signs of hearing loss that happens naturally with aging. 

If someone is taking multiple medications, it could even be a side effect of the medicine. Research shows that more than 200 prescription drugs are known to cause tinnitus, sometimes even after patients stop taking them.

Individuals who work in relatively noisy environments—such as construction or factory workers—can develop tinnitus over time. The development of tinnitus can be due to ongoing exposure to noise that eventually harms the sensory hair cells in the ear that transmit sound to the brain.  

This is referred to as noise-induced hearing loss. This can also occur by consistently listening to loud music (e.g. concerts, earbuds at high volume), so young people should be especially careful.

How Can I Treat the Clicking in My Ear? 

Depending on the root cause of your tinnitus, it can be treated in different ways. Once you’ve gone through a physical exam and a hearing test, you can be recommended to the appropriate specialist who will give you the best advice on how to move forward. Common tinnitus treatments are:

• Tinnitus retraining therapy
• Relief therapy
• Hearing aids
• Depression counseling
• Electrical stimulation
• Meditation or yoga to reduce stress

What Medications Can Be Used to Treat Tinnitus?

Medications often given to tinnitus patients include:

• Benzodiazepine – help suppress nerve function, decreasing tinnitus related symptoms
• Prostaglandin analogues (e.g. Cytotec) – normally used to treat gastric ulcer and glaucoma, some tinnitus patients can use this medication depending on their root cause
• Antidepressants – decrease intensity of tinnitus symptoms and levels of depression, which sometimes cause tinnitus to begin with

Home Remedies and Therapies for Tinnitus

If you are looking for a home remedy or alternate medicine to alleviate symptoms, there is not enough research to support many of the popular options. Even so, the following home remedies are commonly used in an attempt to find relief: 

• Dietary restrictions (e.g. avoid coffee and limit salt intake)
• Zinc supplements
• Ginkgo biloba
• Stop smoking tobacco
• Biofeedback
• Acupuncture

Contact North Shore Hearing P.C. for Tinnitus Treatment

At North Shore Hearing P.C., we take a holistic approach to treating tinnitus. Our experienced audiological professionals will work closely with you to develop a unique program that meets your needs and helps you achieve your hearing goals. Our management approaches are proven to help provide relief and reduce symptoms. Learn more about how we treat tinnitus, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us today for relief.

What Is Tinnitus? – Symptoms – Diagnosis & Tests

What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a problem that causes you hear a noise in one ear or both ears. In most cases, nothing outside of you caused that noise. It’s an internal noise that only you hear in your ear. People commonly describe the noise as a “ringing in the ear.” It also can be roaring, clicking, buzzing, or other sounds. Some people who have tinnitus hear a more complex noise that changes over time. You may hear the noise constantly, or it may come and go.

There are two types of tinnitus.

• Subjective tinnitus happens when you hear a sound that’s not really there. These phantom sounds are caused by certain nerves that aren’t functioning properly or because there is a problem with part of your ear.
• Objective tinnitus is caused by an actual sound that occurs inside or near the ear, such as from nearby blood vessels. Your doctor can hear this sound during an exam. This type of tinnitus rare.

Symptoms of tinnitus

The main symptom of tinnitus is hearing sounds in your ears that aren’t really there. The sound could be ringing. It may also sound like blowing, roaring, clicking, buzzing, hissing, or humming. The noises can be soft or loud. They can be high pitched or low pitched.

What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus is not a disease. It’s a symptom of an underlying health problem. Most of the time, it’s cause by sensorineural hearing loss (nerve damage in your ear). Sometimes it’s caused by something as simple as earwax blocking the ear canal. Here are some other common causes of tinnitus:

• Exposure to loud noises, which can lead to noise-induced hearing loss over time
• Hearing loss related to aging
• Certain medicines that can damage the inner workings of the ear (for example, taking high doses of aspirin every day)
• Eustachian tube dysfunction (the tube that leads from the middle ear to the back of the throat)
• Inner ear infections, such as otitis media or labyrinthitis
• Meniere’s disease, an inner-ear condition that involves hearing loss and dizziness

Allergies, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, diabetes, tumors, and head injuries can also cause tinnitus. If you have a foreign object in your ear or a build-up of ear wax, you may also experience tinnitus.

In many cases, the cause of tinnitus can’t be identified.

How is tinnitus diagnosed?

Your doctor will take a detailed medical history, including a family history of hearing loss. They will want to know about any medical conditions you may have and any history of infections. Your doctor also needs to know what medicines you’re taking, including herbal products or supplements. They will check your ears. They may give you a hearing test. They may also order other tests to find out what is causing your tinnitus. These could include a head CT scan, a head MRI scan, or blood vessel studies. Your doctor might refer you to an otolaryngologist. This is a doctor that specializes in the ear, nose, and throat (also called an ENT doctor).

Can tinnitus be prevented or avoided?

To prevent tinnitus or keep it from getting worse, avoid long-term exposure to loud noises and activities that put you at risk for hearing loss. If you know you’re going to be around loud noises, take precautions by wearing earplugs or noise-canceling headphones. If you listen to music through headphones, keep the volume low.

If you have tinnitus, avoid things that seem to make it worse. These may include nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine.

Treatment

Treatment will depend on what is causing your tinnitus. If earwax is causing your tinnitus, your doctor will remove it. If a medicine you’re taking is causing the issue, your doctor may recommend you stop taking that medicine. But never stop taking a prescription medicine without talking to your doctor first.

If an underlying condition, such as high blood pressure, is causing your tinnitus, your doctor can create a treatment plan for you to follow. Usually, tinnitus goes away once the condition that is causing it is treated. If diabetes is causing your tinnitus, take your prescribed medicine and follow your doctor’s orders for diet and exercise to manage the condition.

When no specific cause can be identified, your doctor will probably focus on making your tinnitus easier to tolerate. Some possible methods include:

• Hearing aids: For people who have tinnitus and hearing loss, using a hearing aid may be helpful. When you wear a hearing aid, things you need to hear will be louder than the ringing, buzzing, or clicking sound. Hearing aids are available by prescription or over the counter. Talk to your doctor about which is best for you.
• Sound generators (maskers): Wearable sound generators can be placed behind your ear and create white noise (constant background noise) or other sounds. This “masks” the tinnitus and makes it less noticeable. Some people also use bedside sound generators to help them sleep.
• Counseling: Some people who have tinnitus become anxious or depressed because a hearing loss can isolate a person, socially. If you have tinnitus and are struggling, seek help through a counselor and/or a support group to help you cope. Counseling can also be used to help you take the focus off your tinnitus.
• Tinnitus retraining therapy: This method uses a mix of counseling with maskers or other approaches. The goal is to teach your brain to ignore the sounds you hear. This isn’t a quick fix, but many people find it useful with time and practice.
• Relaxing: Stress can make tinnitus worse. Your doctor can suggest relaxation techniques that might help you deal with your stress.
• Medicines: Currently, there are no medicines specifically designed for treating tinnitus. Some medicines, such as certain ones used to treat anxiety, have been shown to relieve tinnitus for some people. Talk to your doctor about whether medicine might relieve your symptoms.

Living with tinnitus

For many people with tinnitus, the condition is just a mild distraction. But for some, tinnitus causes distress and negatively affects their quality of life. It can cause anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and poor concentration. To lessen the impact of tinnitus on your life, try the following:

• Avoid loud noises and sounds.
• Control your blood pressure and diabetes.
• Exercise regularly for good circulation.
• Get plenty of sleep and avoid fatigue.

Take the focus off your tinnitus. Use techniques such as sound generators and counseling to push it to the background. Remember that the more you think about tinnitus, the more bothersome it will become.

Questions for your doctor

• The noise in my ears makes it hard for me to sleep. What can I do?
• Is there something causing my tinnitus that we could treat?
• Will I lose my hearing?
• I also get dizzy a lot. Could I have Meniere’s disease?
• Could this be caused by an ear infection?
• Should I avoid listening to music on headphones?
• Is there anything I can do at home to help?

Resources

National Institutes of Health, MedlinePlus: Tinnitus

National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders: Tinnitus

Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians

This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone. Talk to your family doctor to find out if this information applies to you and to get more information on this subject.

causes and treatment, how to diagnose

Tinnitus (from Latin tinnītus “ringing”) is the sensation of sound in one or both ears in the absence of an external source of sound. This sensation is mostly described as ringing in the ears, but the sounds can also be hissing, humming, clicking, or buzzing. Noise, hum or ringing in the ears can be strong, mild or moderate, constant or intermittent. The perception of tinnitus is individual.

Although tinnitus is heard in the ears, it occurs in the nerve circuits of the brain, which causes us to hear sounds in the head. It is not yet known exactly what is going on in the brain to create the illusion of a sound that is not actually there. Tinnitus is the most common disorder affecting 10 to 15% of the world’s population.

Causes of noise or ringing in the ears

The appearance of tinnitus can be caused by prolonged exposure to loud noises or certain lifestyle habits. Ringing in the ears can also occur in healthy people and for no apparent reason. However, in many cases, the appearance of noise or ringing in the ears is associated with hearing loss.

Causes that can trigger tinnitus can be divided into the following groups:

Medical

• Diabetes
• Anemia
• Allergy
• Otosclerosis
• Meniere’s disease
• Earwax plug
• Head and neck tumors
• Low serotonin 9 0018
• Blood pressure problems
• Thyroid problems (hypothyroidism).
• Diseases of the outer, middle or inner ear.

Hearing impairment

According to statistics, 80-85% of patients suffering from tinnitus have some degree of hearing impairment. Despite the fact that tinnitus is not the cause of hearing impairment, but its impact negatively affects concentration, performance, because constant sounds in the head are distracting and prevent you from concentrating on really important sound information. Annoying noise distracts from daily tasks and interferes with meaningful communication with family, friends and loved ones.

Head injury and brain disease
Head injury, such as a concussion, can damage the inner ear and cause tinnitus. Also, neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, can lead to tinnitus, and acoustic tumors of the auditory or vestibular nerve, by putting pressure on the nerve endings, can create tinnitus. In this case, the treatment of tinnitus should begin with an appeal to a neurologist.

Problems with the heart and blood vessels

If your tinnitus is pulsating, it may be due to a problem with your blood vessels.

Drugs that cause tinnitus

The most common drugs that cause tinnitus are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (eg, aspirin, gentamicin), diuretics, some antibiotics, and cancer drugs. If you experience tinnitus after starting a drug or changing its dosage, contact your healthcare provider right away to determine further treatment.

Risk factors for tinnitus

Often tinnitus occurs in people with hearing impairment of different ages, but the elderly and those whose professional activities are associated with high-level noise exposure are at risk.

Age-related hearing loss

Hearing loss due to aging is called presbycusis and begins at age 60. The greater the hearing loss, the more likely it is that tinnitus will occur. To prevent the appearance of annoying noise, you must first contact an audiologist for a hearing diagnosis in order to assess its severity (i.e., at what frequencies a decrease is observed) and then select a method for correcting the identified violations.

Loud noise exposure

Regular exposure to loud noise in professional activities (airport workers, factories, construction sites, city transport drivers, military, hunters) is a common cause of hearing loss and tinnitus. Wearing earplugs at work will help protect your hearing.

Lifestyle
Listening to music at high volumes for extended periods of time or frequent concerts can also cause permanent hearing damage. Excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, abuse of foods and drinks containing caffeine can cause tinnitus. Frequent fatigue and stress can also be risk factors.

If you have tinnitus, start your treatment journey by contacting a hearing care professional who specializes in diagnosing tinnitus to help determine the underlying cause. If common causes of tinnitus are ruled out, your doctor will refer you to another specialist for further evaluation and treatment.

How to reduce the impact of tinnitus

Because tinnitus is purely a subjective sensation, it can be difficult to diagnose, so following the recommendations of your audiologists on your own can help alleviate the condition:

• Avoid tobacco, coffee, cola, tea;
• Learn to relax, arrange a relaxing minute for yourself;
• Try to control your blood pressure, measure it regularly;
• Avoid loud noise and use earplugs for occupational protection;
• Try to eat less salt, because. its use is one of the causes of circulatory disorders;
• Exercise regularly, exercise improves blood circulation, which helps reduce tinnitus;
• Use a hearing aid. It not only helps with hearing loss, but also has a masking effect that will help you get rid of annoying tinnitus and reduce its impact on daily life.

Hearing loss and tinnitus

Noise or ringing in the ears or head often cannot be treated, but the good news is that tinnitus can be controlled. The latest technological solutions in the field of audiology and deafness come to the rescue. Clinical studies show that digital hearing aids are not only effective in addressing hearing loss, but also help reduce the impact of tinnitus and provide overall relief.
Amplification of environmental sounds through the hearing aid provides activation of the auditory part of the nervous system, which reduces the perception of tinnitus. With constant exposure to amplified environmental sounds, the auditory part of the nervous system is rebuilt, which has a beneficial effect on the function of nervous activity, restoring it and weakening hypersensitivity to auditory sensations.

Modern hearing aids are equipped with a sound generator function, such as white noise or ocean noise, the intensity of which the user can independently control using a smartphone thanks to a mobile application for iPhone and Android.

Find out more about modern digital hearing aid models that help manage tinnitus.

Khairulina Svetlana Ivanovna

Otorhinolaryngologist-audiologist of the first category. Work experience: since 2007. Conducts reception of adults and children from birth.

Reception of adults and children:

Minsk, Independence Avenue, 83

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Center for Good Hearing

High-frequency tinnitus – causes, diagnosis, treatment.

25
Mar
2018

25 Mar 2018 Tinnitus types, Symptoms Tinnitus types, Dizziness, What to do?, Head noise, Tinnitus 8

ears . A person perceives it and describes it as a squeak or whistle. In young people, the symptom is more often unilateral; for patients of mature and elderly age, bilateral manifestations are characteristic.

Contents of the article:

• 1 Provoking factors
• 2 Pathology of the peripheral parts
  • 2.1 Eustacheitis
  • 2.2 Balance organ
  • 2.3 Organ of Corti (cochlea)
  • 2.4 Initial parts of the auditory nerve
  • 2.5 Pathology of the central parts of the auditory analyzer
    • 2.5.1 Effective treatment of tinnitus

Triggers

According to acoustic standards, sounds with a frequency of 800 Hz or more are considered high-frequency. The physiological limit that the human ear can hear and the brain can perceive is 20,000 Hz.

The hair cells of the organ of Corti (part of the cochlea) are responsible for the perception of such high tones in the inner ear, with very short villi that lose their flexibility with age. Therefore, young people can hear higher frequencies than older people.

Many cases of tonal high-frequency tinnitus are due to pathological stimulation from the cells of the organ of Corti. No less often, a squeak in ears occurs due to problems with the auditory nerve. Somewhat less often – with damage to the central parts of the auditory analyzer.

So, it can squeak in the ears for the following reasons:

1. Inflammatory processes in the parotid region – otitis media, ethmoiditis.
2. Diseases of ENT organs – eustachitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis.
3. Hypertonicity of masticatory muscles (trismus, bruxism).
4. Damage to the auditory nerve itself, when pathological impulses come from the fibers that conduct high-frequency sound.
5. Disorders from the subcortical parts of the auditory analyzer located in the brain.

1. Chronic sonic overload. High-pitched tinnitus is a common occurrence among musicians and entertainers.
2. Acute sonic overload, acoustic trauma.
3. Stress, episodes of psycho-emotional overstrain.

In general, the causes of squeaking and high-frequency ringing are different, and in order to eliminate them, one cannot do without qualified medical assistance.

High-pitched tinnitus may be the first symptom of sensorineural hearing loss.

Thanks to their experience, the specialists of the clinic of restorative neurology “Tinitus Neuro” on the day of treatment, based on the results of a patient’s survey, can roughly determine the cause and location of damage to the auditory analyzer.

Pathology of the peripheral parts

This includes all pathology that is associated with damage to the organ of hearing from the auricle to the auditory nerve. The main problems are created by the ENT organs, the labyrinth (responsible for balance), the organ of Corti and the auditory nerve itself.

Eustacheitis

Inflammatory diseases of the throat cause swelling of the tubal tonsil, located at one end of the Eustachian tube. As a result, the tube becomes clogged, the pressure in the tympanic cavity drops and a tonal whistle occurs. Typical:

• The symptom is unilateral.
• Hearing in the affected ear weakens, it seems to be blocked.
• There are signs of inflammation in the throat, on the tonsils, maybe sinusitis.

It should be borne in mind that both low-frequency and broadband tinnitus can occur with eustacheitis, so independent conclusions about the nature of the noise without consulting a doctor should not be made.

Organ of balance

The labyrinth, which consists of three semicircular tubules, is very closely connected with other structures of the inner ear, in particular with the organ of Corti.

High frequency squeaking and tinnitus occur with Meniere’s disease, inflammation of the labyrinth, injuries and tumors of the inner ear. Such localization of the source of tinnitus is characterized by:

• Unilateral manifestation.
• Hearing is preserved, at least in the initial stages of the pathology.
• Tinnitus is accompanied by symptoms of imbalance.

Organ of Corti (cochlea)

It is there that the cells are located, which eventually perceive the vibrations of the tympanic membrane and transform them into electrical impulses transmitted to the auditory nerve.

With age and with pronounced sound overload, these cells gradually die off, starting with those responsible for the perception of high frequency sounds. In some people, this is manifested by a decrease in hearing to high-pitched sounds, in others, high-frequency tinnitus occurs.

The process is usually two-way.

Primary sections of the auditory nerve

Strictly speaking, when the root of the auditory nerve is damaged, noises of different heights, including high-frequency ones, may occur.

Characterized by monotonous tone and unilateral localization of tinnitus.

Pathology of the central parts of the auditory analyzer

Two problems are most common here: psycho-emotional overstrain and circulatory disorders in the brain tissues (vertebrobasilar insufficiency).

Given that the central parts of the auditory analyzer include 5 neurons, it is very difficult to find the source of high-frequency tinnitus among them. Moreover, in some cases, a unilateral lesion leads to the appearance of noise in both ears.

Effective treatment for tinnitus

No qualified physician would treat a patient with high frequency tinnitus based on a single interview.

More about treatment

Thanks to experience and knowledge, after talking with the patient, the doctor can focus on the study of a particular area – the middle ear, ENT organs or the central nervous system.

Tinnitus Neuro Restorative Neurology Clinic uses modern methods for in-depth study of high-frequency tinnitus – Doppler ultrasound, CT, MRI, electroencephalography and audiometry in all modes.