The human ear is a very delicate instrument of sound and can easily be permanently damaged by trauma. So how does this lead to tinnitus?

Types of Ear Trauma

Trauma to the ear can be caused by a wide variety of things. Physical trauma from some form of blow directly to the external ear or a head injury, such as may be received during a physical sport such as rugby, is an obvious cause of damage to the ear. This type of external source may damage the outer ear more than the inner depending on the severity of the trauma. The next type of ear trauma comes from ear infections which can damage the delicate mechanisms of the ear leading to some form of hearing impairment. Less obvious than the other two types of trauma are the after effects of infections in other areas of the head such as sinus infections. Sinus infections can easily cause problems in the ears. Even less obvious sources of ear trauma can come from heart problems or other cardiovascular related issues. Blood flow has a direct effect on the sounds heard by tinnitus sufferers.

How the Trauma Affects Hearing

Physical damage to one or both ears may affect your hearing for either a short time or a much longer time depending on the severity of the damage caused by the trauma. The damage may only be present in one ear if the trauma occurred on only one side of the head such as from a hard blow. Head injuries may well lead to damage to both ears as the actual injury may affect nerves or other delicate systems which directly link to both ears. The same is true of the damage caused by infections of the inner ear. Perhaps one or both ears may be damaged by the infection and the level of damage will depend on the level of the infection problem. The typical affects of these types of traumas are: partial loss or even total loss of hearing in one or both ears, partial frequency loss where you only lose the ability to hear certain levels of sound, and of course the appearance of sounds that have no obvious source; the condition we know as tinnitus.

Is it Tinnitus?

Once the obvious cause of the ear trauma has been dealt with, such as medical treatment for an infection or a period of recuperation following a head trauma, you need to assess whether you have been left with tinnitus. If you become aware of sounds, which range from ringing noises to whooshing sounds, that seem to come from no obvious source or seem to originate within your own ears, then the likelihood is that you have some form of tinnitus and should seek a tinnitus treatment.

Once you have established the presence of tinnitus you have one of two immediate options to consider. Do you act right away to resolve the tinnitus or do you wait and see if it will vanish over time. This will usually depend on the acuteness of the sound you are hearing and the level of irritation is has reached. For most people, the discomfort and disruption that tinnitus causes to their daily lives leads them to seek a rapid solution and not to wait for things to worsen. If you want to rid yourself of tinnitus act now!