There are essentially only 3 main causes of ringing in the ears. In actual fact, the noises people actually hear are different from person to person, and even in the same person at different times. It may sound like waterfall-like sounds, roaring, buzzing, hissing, whistling, rushing etc.

The three main causes of ringing in the ears (tinnitus) are (in order of commonness):

* Cochlea Damage Tinnitus - this is "doctor talk" for ringing in the ears due to damage caused by loud sounds (the small bones in the ear do not make a distinction between our preferred tunes blasted in through a headset and environmental noise such as working in a factory with inadequate ear protection!) - this causes ringing in the ears (tinnitus) in 80 to 85% of cases.

Prevention is clearly better than cure! Avoid drawn out exposure to any loud sounds. Make certain you don't play music too hard and wear the correct ear protection if you work in a noisy surroundings. This kind of ringing in the ears (tinnitus) increases over time - this means that the first time you have been to a deafening event, the ringing in the ears may vanish of its own accord in a short time, but whenever it happens, further damage is done to your ears, until it may become irreversible!

* Stress may cause ringing in the ears in 8% to 10% of tinnitus cases.

In this instance it is really a section of the brain (the hypothalamus) is the cause of ringing in the ears. When we are exposed to acute stress over a long time, our hypothalamus might stop producing several critical trace elements that our body requires to operate properly.

Although, in our society, stress is inescapable, there are several procedures we can utilize to diminish its detrimental effect on ourselves. For example, excercise, yoga etc.

* persistent Sinusitis or Hay Fever causes ringing in the ears in approximately 5% of tinnitus cases.

This is the most preventable causes of ringing in the ears. Often the antibiotics or antihistamines given for sinusitis and hay fever cause a thick mucous accumulation at the back of the ear drum. All that is called for is to have that mucous drained and your problem is solved.

If none of the above causes of ringing in the ears pertains to you, then you must go to your medical practitioner for a thorough and full physical examination. Every now and then a fatty deposit builds up in the carotid artery (the main artery transporting blood to your head) and that can also cause tinnitus. Very rarely (and only if the ringing is limited to only one ear) a tumour may be to blame.

Ok, so you have researched all the causes of ringing in the ears (tinnitus); you've gone to your medical practitioner who has discovered nothing physically wrong with you and told you to "just live with it" - what do you do now?