WEBVTT - What Happens When You Get Ringing In Your Ears?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, brain stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Sager here. Imagine the following sounds ringing, hissing, static, crickets,

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<v Speaker 1>screeching sirens, whooshing, roaring, pulsing, ocean waves, buzzing, clicking, or

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<v Speaker 1>a dial tone. What if you heard one of these

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<v Speaker 1>sounds all the time. Fifty million people in the United

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<v Speaker 1>States experience this kind of ringing ear to some degree,

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<v Speaker 1>and of these, sixteen million half to seek medical attention.

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<v Speaker 1>Two million are so seriously debilitated they can't function on

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<v Speaker 1>a normal basis. So why do our ears ring? What

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<v Speaker 1>is causing it? And is there any way to prevent

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<v Speaker 1>it or remedy it. Well, let's start with the cause.

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<v Speaker 1>Usually it's loud noises that are the leading cause. At concerts,

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<v Speaker 1>for instance, or sporting events or jobs with extreme noise

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<v Speaker 1>like firefighting. Anything louder than a shouting match can damage

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<v Speaker 1>the hair cells in our inner ears, basically anything over

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<v Speaker 1>nine decibels. When sound hits these cells, they convert the

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<v Speaker 1>vibrations into electrical currents that auditory nerves then carry to

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<v Speaker 1>our brain. These hair cells reside in the inner ear

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<v Speaker 1>inside the cochlea, which is the size of a p

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<v Speaker 1>bundles of hair like extensions called stereocilia, those rest on

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<v Speaker 1>top of them. Vibrations deflect off the stereocilia, causing them

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<v Speaker 1>to move according to force and pitch. How they move

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<v Speaker 1>then triggers the electrochemical current that sends information through the

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<v Speaker 1>nerves and to our brain. But there are other causes

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<v Speaker 1>for ringing ear, and it's basically practically everything, but I'll

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<v Speaker 1>give you the list here. Infection, allergies, higher low blood pressure, diabetes,

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<v Speaker 1>thyroid problems, TMJ, lime disease, Minnaire's disease, fibromyalgia, perforated ear, drums,

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<v Speaker 1>circulation problems, and even menopause. All of those things can

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<v Speaker 1>cause ringing ear, and some medication can cause it to

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<v Speaker 1>particularly aspirin and common antibiotics. Some of these medications are

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<v Speaker 1>auto toxic, meaning that they're harmful to the ear. Another

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<v Speaker 1>cause could be nerve damage. Sometimes there's tumors of the

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<v Speaker 1>hearing or balance nerve that can cause this. There's also

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<v Speaker 1>neurological disorders or head trauma that caused five to ten

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<v Speaker 1>of tonitis, for example, a skull fracture or a closed

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<v Speaker 1>head injury, maybe whiplash or multiple sclerosis. All of these

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<v Speaker 1>can count as head trauma that could lead to ringing ear.

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<v Speaker 1>And then finally we've got good old ear wax or

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<v Speaker 1>really any blockage in your hearing pathways or degeneration of

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<v Speaker 1>those hair cells I mentioned earlier from aging. So then

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<v Speaker 1>what is tonitis? We hear this term thrown around a

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<v Speaker 1>lot with ringing ear. Tonitas is the medical term for

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<v Speaker 1>the perception of sound in one or both ears or

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<v Speaker 1>in the head when no external sound is present. It

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<v Speaker 1>is often referred to as ringing in the ears, although

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<v Speaker 1>some people hear hissing, roaring, whistling, chirping, or clicking. In particular,

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<v Speaker 1>I hear the dial tone sound for instance. Tonitas can

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<v Speaker 1>be intermittent or constant, with single or multiple tones, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's perceived volume can range from subtle to shattering. But

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<v Speaker 1>if hair cells are repeatedly damaged, they can become permanently

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<v Speaker 1>turned on, making your brain believe that it's receiving sound

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<v Speaker 1>vibrations and your brain perceives sound then when no external

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<v Speaker 1>sound exists. This affects of US soldiers returning from a

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<v Speaker 1>rack in Afghanistan, but its origin is still unknown. So

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<v Speaker 1>there's one theory that damaged hair selves move randomly, sending

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<v Speaker 1>your brain electrochemical messages when there aren't any actual sounds.

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<v Speaker 1>Since you can regrow the tips of stereocilia, the ringing

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<v Speaker 1>is often temporary, but this could occur along our auditory

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<v Speaker 1>pathways or be a breakdown in our brains noise filtering system.

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<v Speaker 1>This muffles the sound of our own neurons firing, So

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<v Speaker 1>maybe tonightus is the sound of our own nervous system working.

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<v Speaker 1>So you're probably wondering, well, how do I prevent this

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<v Speaker 1>from happening to me? Well, when you're exposed to sound

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<v Speaker 1>levels of over eighty five decibels, you should probably wear

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<v Speaker 1>ear plugs or any other kind of hearing protection, and

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<v Speaker 1>you should avoid the following things that are just going

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<v Speaker 1>to make it worse. Stress, lack of sleeve, caffeine and aspirin. Yep.

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<v Speaker 1>And what are the remedies. There's a bunch that people list.

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<v Speaker 1>Ginko apparently decreases inflammation. A hundred and twenty milligrams a

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<v Speaker 1>day in divided doss will help. You could also take

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<v Speaker 1>b complex vitamins magnesium, calcium or zinc, or you know,

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<v Speaker 1>you could just take a multi vitamin. There's also cranial

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<v Speaker 1>sacral therapy and acupuncture that's known to help. Surgery is

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes a possibility, especially if there's a tumor involved, and

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<v Speaker 1>hearing aids may actually mask tenitis. Some people use masking

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<v Speaker 1>devices to block the sound, and there's a company called

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<v Speaker 1>Neuromonics that claims to have a treatment with a device

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<v Speaker 1>that eases symptoms and trains your brain to block the noise.

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<v Speaker 1>The only problem is it's only five thousand dollars. There's

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<v Speaker 1>also tenitis retraining therapy, which uses low level broadband noises

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<v Speaker 1>along with counseling to get you used to the unwanted

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<v Speaker 1>sound and find Antidepressants and anti anxiety medication can sometimes help.

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<v Speaker 1>Also biofeedback and hypnosis, or when in doubt, turn to

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<v Speaker 1>good old exercise. It can improve the circulation to help

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<v Speaker 1>your tonitus. Check out the brain stuff channel on YouTube,

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<v Speaker 1>and for more on this and thousands of other topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit how stuff works dot com.