Why Are My Ears Ringing/Buzzing?

Experiencing an ongoing, consistent ringing, buzzing, or even hissing sound within your ear is a common sign of tinnitus. 

Tinnitus is a hearing condition that can be both temporary and long lasting. According to the Tinnitus Australia, one in three Australians have experienced tinnitus at some point in their life. About one in six live with ongoing tinnitus, and 2% of those with tinnitus find the condition distressing.

Tinnitus is characterised by ringing, buzzing, whistling, or even roaring sounds in the ear. The most frustrating and irritating part of tinnitus is that these sounds are not external – they are being experienced inside the ear.

Possible reasons why your ears are ringing 

While the exact physiological cause of tinnitus is still not 100% clear, medical studies have outlined some of the reasons why some people start to get a buzzing or ringing sound in the ears.

• Exposure to loud noise — Exposure to excessively loud noise (like at a rock concert) can result in damage to the inner ear and may trigger an instance of tinnitus. This is one of the most common reasons for ringing sounds in the ear. Being exposed to noises at an unsafe volume level (above 85 dBa) also increases the risk of developing chronic tinnitus. 

• Old age — Hearing ability naturally deteriorates with age – this condition is known as presbycusis. It’s common for older individuals to develop some symptoms of tinnitus along with hearing loss. 

• Infections in the ear or sinuses — Infections in the ear or sinus can cause congestion in the inner ear and the Eustachian tube due to swelling or the build-up of discharge. This creates pressure in the middle ear that can lead to symptoms of ongoing ringing or buzzing sounds.

• Earwax blockage in the ear — Ringing in the ears can also be caused by a build-up of earwax in the ear passage that has hardened and formed a blockage. If your hearing has become muffled along with a louder tinnitus sound, it’s likely that you have earwax that needs to be removed. Seek professional help from an audiologist or an ENT doctor to remove the earwax blockage safely. 

• Trauma to the head or neck — Physical injuries to the head or the neck (e.g. whiplash from a car accident) can cause temporary ringing in the ear. This sensation should fade naturally within a few hours or the next day. 

• Misaligned jaw — Misalignments in the jaw can also result in tinnitus. If the ringing or buzzing sound you hear changes as you open or close your mouth, it’s possible that you have temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ), a misalignment issue that is related to tinnitus. 

• Cardiovascular disease — Hearing loss and the onset of tinnitus have been shown to have links to heart disease. It is estimated that individuals who have cardiovascular conditions are 50% more likely to develop hearing loss and conditions like tinnitus. 

• Nerve tumours — Rare nerve tumours can affect the auditory, vestibular or facial nerves, causing the symptoms of tinnitus. 

Is tinnitus permanent?

Tinnitus itself is not a permanent hearing condition — the ringing sound in your ear may be a temporary occurrence related to a particular event like being exposed to a sudden loud noise. These isolated occurrences usually disappear on their own within a few minutes. 

However, if you experience frequent or persistent ringing in your ears, it’s possible that you have chronic tinnitus. This form of tinnitus can develop alongside some level of hearing loss and is considered to be lasting. There is no set-and-forget ‘cure’ for chronic tinnitus, but there are ways to mitigate the effects of the condition on your life. 

What to do if you suspect you have tinnitus

Visit your local audiologist for your symptoms — an audiologist will conduct a thorough inspection of your ear and hearing ability to determine the cause of tinnitus, as well as the extent of its impact on your hearing ability. 

They may also ask you questions about your physical and medical conditions to narrow down other conditions that may be causing the ringing in your ears. For example, an audiologist may ask if you have recently started taking a new type of medication or if you have recently sustained an injury to your head or neck.

The audiologist will assess these factors and provide a diagnosis on whether you have chronic tinnitus. From there, there are different tinnitus treatment options for managing the effects of the ringing sensations, so that you can enjoy an improved quality of life. Some of these options include specialised hearing aids that are designed to mask the sounds of tinnitus, as well as therapeutic approaches to help you cope with and mitigate the sounds.