Do you hear a ringing, roaring, clicking or hissing sound in your ears? Do you hear this sound often or all the time? Does the sound bother you? If you answer is yes, you might have tinnitus.
Millions of people in the U.S. have tinnitus. People with severe tinnitus may have trouble hearing, working or even sleeping. Causes of tinnitus include hearing loss, exposure to loud noises or medicines you may be taking for a different problem. Tinnitus may also be a symptom of other health problems, such as allergies, high or low blood pressure, tumors and problems in the heart, blood vessels, jaw and neck.
Treatment depends on the cause. Treatments may include hearing aids, sound-masking devices, medicines and ways to learn how to cope with the noise.
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
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Noise in Your Ears: Facts about Tinnitus
(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noiseinear.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/spanish/noiseinear.asp -
Tinnitus
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/tinnitus/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/tinnitusspanish/htm/index.htm
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Tinnitus(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/tinnitus.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/espRuido.cfm
- Tinnitus(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/tinnitus/DS00365/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Tinnitus Management(American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) - http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/treatment/tinnitus_manage.htm
- Noise and Hearing Protection(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/hearingProtection.cfm
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Gingko(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ginkgo/
- Local Support Groups (Vestibular Disorders)(Vestibular Disorders Association) - http://www.vestibular.org/support-groups/find-support-group.php
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Tinnitus(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/tinnitus/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/tinnitusspanish/htm/index.htm
- Atlas of the Body: The Ear(American Medical Association) - http://www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZYXNW46JC&sub_cat=198
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Tinnitus(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Tinnitus%22
- Article: Incapacitating unilateral tinnitus in single-sided deafness treated by cochlear implantation. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18834065&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Hearing and seeing: Unusual early signs of Wernicke encephalopathy. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18725598&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Tinnitus aurium in persons with normal hearing: 55 years later. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18722219&tool=MedlinePlus
- Tinnitus -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=tinnitus[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Find an Audiologist(American Academy of Audiology) - http://webportal.audiology.org/Custom/FindAnAudiologist.aspx
- Find an Otolaryngologist (ENT)(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org//findanentmore.cfm
- American Tinnitus Association - http://www.ata.org/
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National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/
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Prevalence of Chronic Tinnitus(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence.htm
- Can Loud Music Hurt My Ears?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/rock_music.html
- When Your Child Has Tinnitus(American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery) - http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/Child-Tinnitus.cfm
- Hearing Disorders and Deafness - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hearingdisordersanddeafness.html
- Ear, Nose and Throat - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/earnoseandthroat.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Tinnitus is the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders - http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/