The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog

Please note: the following information does not constitute professional medical advice, and is provided for general informational purposes only. Please speak to your doctor if you have tinnitus.

If you have tinnitus, your first stop toward a solution may have been to visit an audiologist for hearing testing. However, hearing loss is not always the cause of tinnitus. Consider how you can have tinnitus without hearing loss causes. These causes include behavioral and environmental associations.

Smoking
Over the years, scientists have discovered that smoking is to blame for a wide variety of medical ailments. Tinnitus without hearing loss causes include smoking. The longer that you have smoked tobacco, the greater your risk of having tinnitus. This is because nicotine acts as an irritant to the nerve endings and receptors in your ears. Chewing tobacco may also have this effect and be a cause of tinnitus without hearing loss.

Medications
Many over the counter and prescription medications are a part of tinnitus without hearing loss causes. Aspirin is a commonly used medication that may trigger tinnitus in some people. Anti-malaria drugs and malaria treatments such as quinine also cause ringing in the ears in some individuals. Diuretic drugs and chemotherapy agents may also cause tinnitus.

Food Additives and Supplements
Tinnitus without hearing loss causes includes food additives and supplements such as NutraSweet. This food additive is an artificial sweetener that is added to chewing gum, candies, diet soft drinks and other foods to replace sugar. In some sensitive individuals, consumption of foods containing NutraSweet may cause tinnitus. The more of the additive that is consumed, the more tinnitus you may experience.

TMJ
Temporomandibular joint syndrome, or TMJ, is a common cause of tinnitus. In TMJ, the jaw is out of alignment. The actions of chewing, talking or yawning may cause air pockets to build up within the sinuses around the ears. You may hear clicking or popping as you move your jaws. This is the sound of the air pocket trying to escape. These efforts can also trigger tinnitus in some people.

Earwax
A buildup of earwax may cause some people to experience a sensation of tinnitus. A piece of impacted earwax can also cause tinnitus. Earwax blockages are preventable, but once one develops, a medical professional will need to remove it in order to prevent damage to the ear.

Head Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries are also a common cause of tinnitus. A sudden impact to the brain can cause swelling in the blood vessels that service the ears. Stroke and high blood pressure can also cause tinnitus.