ear, nose, and throat disorders
Ear Ringing or Buzzing
Introduction
Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) is noise originating in the ear rather than in the environment. It is a symptom and not a specific disease. Tinnitus is very common—10 to 15% of people experience it to some degree. The noise heard by people with tinnitus may be a buzzing, ringing, roaring, whistling, or hissing sound and is often associated with Hearing Loss . Some people hear more complex sounds that may be different at different times. These sounds are more noticeable in a quiet environment and when people are not concentrating on something else. Thus, tinnitus tends to be most disturbing to people when they are trying to sleep. However, the experience of tinnitus is highly individual. Some people are very disturbed by their symptoms, whereas others find them quite bearable. Subjective tinnitusis by far the most common type. It is caused by abnormal activity in the part of the brain responsible for processing sound (auditory cortex) and is often a symptom of ear-related disorders. Doctors do not fully understand how this abnormal activity develops. Objective tinnitusis much less common. It represents actual noise created by structures near the ear such as noise generated by blood flowing through arteries or veins. Other people can sometimes hear the sounds of objective tinnitus if they listen closely. 