There will be few people who have gone to a discotheque or to a live band concert who will not have experienced the sounds of tinnitus . Walking away from any such event we all have a ringing in the ears attributable to the impact of very loud noise on our delicate hearing system.

Most people will give the matter little thought and will probably be blissfully unaware of the potential long term damage that could be building up for them. Few will even understand what the term tinnitus means and fewer still will associate the ear ringing they are experiencing with any particular medical condition. Fortunately for the majority those sounds of tinnitus only live with them for a very short time, at least at this point in their lives.

It is now quite the norm for younger people to live their lives with a set of earphones almost permanently plugged into the side of their heads. These same people often have the volume of the sounds they are delivering directly upon their eardrums turned up so loudly that anyone in their vicinity can clearly hear those sounds too.

So here we have the naively self inflicted beginnings of what can evolve for some into a personal nightmare. There are already many millions of people who suffer or have suffered from the ringing in the ears we know as the sounds of tinnitus. In the years to come this number is likely to swell almost exponentially as the long term effect of this constant assault on our ears comes home to roost.

Whilst the incidence of noise related propagation of tinnitus symptoms is high and getting higher it is by no means the only thing that causes tinnitus. Tinnitus can be initiated by something as simple as a heavy build up of earwax or an ear infection. However it can also be a warning of something more sinister going on so it should not be ignored.

Despite all the research that has been carried out on the subject there is still only very limited knowledge as to the causes of tinnitus or even exactly what produces the sounds of tinnitus in the head. There are on rare occasion identifiable physical issues with the ear mechanism itself and where this is the case there is a good chance that surgery will be effective.

Tinnitus does often become apparent as a partner to age related hearing loss. The use of a hearing aid especially one fitted with a tinnitus masker can be very effective in reducing the impact of ringing in the ears for these people.

Other common instigators of tinnitus are thought to be psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. Also on this list would have to be the side effects of certain drugs and anyone who notices the symptoms of tinnitus coincident with the start of a course of drugs should refer back to the prescribing doctor without delay.

Neurological disorders and the impact of head injuries can result in the onset of tinnitus as can multiple sclerosis and certain thyroid problems. The word here is to seek medical advice as soon as tinnitus becomes apparent. As with all medical conditions the earlier a problem is diagnosed the more likely it is to be resolved.

It is commonly the case that tinnitus causes are not found to be physical and that some form of alternative treatment should be looked at. Contrary to popular belief that the symptoms of tinnitus are untreatable there are proven alternative therapies that do often give massive relief and occasionally deliver a total cure.