When to seek
medical advice
Most cases of
tinnitus are not harmful. However, if tinnitus persists or gets worse or
you also experience hearing loss or dizziness, see your doctor. Your
doctor may be able to suggest treatments that might reduce the noise and
techniques to help you better cope with the noise. If age-related
hearing loss isn't a possible cause, tinnitus and hearing loss occurring
at the same time in one ear may be due to nerve damage in your inner ear
from an injury and should be evaluated by your doctor.
Screening and
diagnosis
You and your
doctor can discuss your signs and symptoms, when they started, their
severity and what can make them worse. Also helpful to your doctor is
information about your other health conditions, such as high blood
pressure and whether you're taking any medications.
Your doctor will
also examine your ears to see if an accumulation of earwax may be
causing or contributing to the ringing in your ears. In addition, your
doctor will attempt to hear noise with a stethoscope over the area of
your head and neck around the ear. If damage to your inner ear is the
cause of your tinnitus, you may have subjective tinnitus, meaning that
only you can hear it. But if your doctor can hear noise from a vascular
disorder, you have objective or pulsatile tinnitus.
