Tinnitus is like expert would like to say a symptom but i preffer expresison disease because it really worse your life like cancer or many other diseases. But lets write some facts:
- It can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period (but usually with some duration), ear infesctions, foreign objects in the ear, nose allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain, or wax build-up.
- Withdrawal from a benzodiazepine addiction may cause tinnitus as well. In-ear headphones, whose sound enters directly into the ear canal, without any opportunity to be deflected or absorbed elsewhere, are a common cause of tinnitus when volume is set beyond modest or moderate levels.
- Tinnitus can also be caused by natural hearing impairment (as in aging), as a side effect of some medications, and as a side effect of genetic (congenital) hearing loss. However, the most common cause is noise-induced hearing loss.
- As tinnitus is usually a subjective phenomenon, it is difficult to measure using objective tests, such as by comparison with noise of known frequency and intensity, as in an audiometric test. The condition is often rated clinically on a simple scale from "slight" to "catastrophic" according to the practical difficulties it imposes, such as interference with sleep, quiet activities, and normal daily activities.
- Tinnitus is common; about one in five people between 55 and 65 years old report symptoms on a general health questionnaire, and 11.8% on more detailed tinnitus-specific questionnaires.
