Symptoms

• The main signs of ear ringing are a sensation of sound that the individual will describe as a ringing, clicking, roaring whistling, hissing or buzzing noise. The pitch of the sound may differ. It can be in one or both ears and be constant or intermittent.
  
  

Causes

• Different types of things may cause ear ringing, including hearing loss related to age, an exposure to loud noises, the blockage of the ear canal by earwax and subtle changes in the bones within the ear.
  
  

Warning

• Some of the more serious conditions that precipitate ear ringing are a fluid imbalance brought on by Meniere's disease, neck and head trauma, tumors, reactions to medications and high blood pressure.
  
  

Considerations

• Although doctors sometimes never find the exact cause of a person's ear ringing, an examination can rule out certain factors as well as look for possible earwax buildup that could be the culprit.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• Some of the more common treatments of tinnitus include using noise-suppression devices, white-noise machines and hearing aids to mask or lessen the severity of the ringing. Drugs such as Alprazolam and Acamprosate have had success in reducing this problem but come with side effects such as nausea and tiredness.