Tinnitus From Acoustic Trauma

<p>Today, the vast majority of tinnitus cases are brought on at least in part by acoustic trauma, or noise damage to the inner ear, and as tinnitus continues to become more prevalent, so does the role of loud sound in causing tinnitus. The explanation is not hard to figure out. With the rise of industry and technology our world has become a very noisy place, and few seem to be paying attention to the threat of hearing loss and tinnitus caused by noise exposure. Substantial tinnitus help could be realized overall by a greater awareness of how noise affects our hearing.

Noise can damage the ears in two basic ways. In one case, a sudden blast of high decibel sound, as coming from an explosion nearby, can break the stereocilia or hair cells of the cochlea within the inner ear, inducing loss of hearing and tinnitus.

Second, prolonged and repeated exposure to loud sounds, such as what is experienced in a machine shop, rock concert, or night club, can also damage stereocilia and cause ear tinnitus, though usually more gradually over time. With extended exposures over time, minus ear protection, tinnitus may begin nearly imperceptibly and intermittently. For instance, after a day at a loud machine shop, one’s hearing may seem muted and a low degree of ear ringing may be heard for a couple of hours or more. If subjection to high noise levels continues, the damage done to the inner ear and the attendant tinnitus becomes progressively worse over time. Eventually, the ear ringing becomes constant, and further exposures to loud sounds aggravate the tinnitus until the ear ringing begins to interfere with daily living, often exceeding one’s ability to cope.

Unfortunately, acoustic trauma can actually kill the tiny hair cells, the stereocilia, which are responsible for transducing sound energy into electrical impulses which then travel to the brain for processing. Investigation is underway to find a way to reproduce stereocilia, but to date no one has found a way to make that happen. When the hearing receptor cells are ruined, the loss is irreversible. Once the damage to the stereocilia is done, loss of hearing occurs for particular sound wavelengths. The ear ringing experienced, in that case, may be due to distorted signals from particular wavelengths, but no one really understands why yet.

With the arrival of the extremely loud iPod and similar players, and the ear buds that sit right up to the auditory canal, the primary cause of ringing in ears is beginning to receive some attention. When used properly, at safe volume levels, ear buds can deliver sound to the listener very beautifully. Yet one’s hearing can suffer substantial impairment whenever the decibels exceed safe limits. Not only is it possible to subject oneself to dangerous sound strength for long periods but, because of the way the ear buds sit in the concha, the sound is directly funneled to the ear drum for maximum impact, in this case for doing damage that is often irreparable.

One should be aware that the tiny hair cells of the inner ear are prone to breaking down as people age, a process known as presbycusis. Acoustic trauma sustained when one is younger, then, can make tinnitus all the much worse when one becomes older. Therefore, heed this advice if you will: Protect your ears while you are young. Usually, tinnitus brought on by noise damage can be averted by steering clear of loud sound environs, keeping the volume down on sound systems, and by using ear plugs or ear muffs whenever exposure cannot be avoided. It may be that you already have tinnitus, and would like to learn how to stop ringing ears. If so, avoiding noise damage that can make it even worse is a very good place to start.

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1. Tinnitus Trauma