Where’s That Irritating Noise in my Ears Coming From?

Woman with tinnitus and ringing in her ears getting a headache.

It’s well known that stress, particularly for prolonged amounts of time, can be extremely harmful for your body. When you are afflicted by persistent stress, everything from headaches to severe muscle aches can be the result. But tinnitus, a buzzing, clicking, or ringing in the ears can also be the result.

Tinnitus can be caused by numerous different health factors, such as stress, sinus infections, or loud sounds. Let’s take a look at some potential factors.

Unhealthy Stress – How to Identify it

How does stress relate to tinnitus? We generally don’t consider the negative effect stress can have on our bodies or how it can lead to troublesome, painful, or even severe medical problems. Stress isn’t something you should ignore.

Healthy Stress

Stress that lasts a few minutes, or even several hours, can actually be helpful in accomplishing demanding tasks. Stress can supply a boost of energy and adrenalin to complete tasks and projects that really need to get done.

But short term, healthy stress and long term, unhealthy stress are two very different things. Healthy stress helps you complete a goal without harming your body. Unhealthy stress is hazardous for your body.

Unhealthy Stress

Unhealthy stress is caused by the fear of something that, more often than not, never in fact happens. Unhealthy stress is generated when an individual stays in a heightened state of anxiety for an extended period of time.

In hazardous conditions, the fight or flight response is a normal reaction but it also is associates with unhealthy stress. Harmful physical symptoms happen when someone stays in a hyper-stressful situation for extended periods.

Worrying

Worrying is a really common cause of unhealthy stress. We may exaggerate the significance of a situation or an interaction with other people. We may tell ourselves we wrecked a chance at a promotion because of something we said. When you worry in this way your invasive thoughts can really run away from you.

Intrusive Thoughts And Unhealthy Stress

We may worry about what we failed to accomplish today and fret over what we need to get done tomorrow. Fixation, perpetual internal dialog, and even panic are a typical part of this kind of stress. Ultimately, our unhealthy stress wears on our bodies unless we take steps to curtail these thoughts.

Pain and muscle tension on the upper body are normal effects of unhealthy stress. Impacted areas might include the head, neck, jaw, or shoulders.

Jaw Tension And Anger

Have you ever read a book where the author describes a character as being so angry his jaw clenched in rage? Jaw strain is a prevalent symptom of stress, anger, worry, and invasive thoughts.

Pressure can be put on the fragile bones of the inner ear and eardrum by sustained tension. Ringing in the ears can be the consequence.

Ear Strain And Sinus Infections

Sinus infections cause lots of undesirable symptoms, from a soar throat to a stuffy nose.

Sinus infections cause sinus pressure, headaches, and pressure in the ears. These issues can produce buzzing, clicking, or ringing in the ears.

When you have a sinus infection, your nasal congestion often spreads to your ears. Blockage in the ears and severe pressure on the eardrum will build up because of the accumulated earwax this causes. And with this comes ringing in the ears.

If the ringing is triggered by a sinus infection it will most likely improve on its own and you won’t need to consult a hearing professional. But you should absolutely schedule an appointment with us if the ringing continues for more than a few days.

Extended Exposure to Loud Noises

Long-term ringing in the ears will probably not manifest due to the occasional concert. If you regularly expose your ears to very loud sounds, however, you may be putting stress on the tender areas of your ears.

When you expose your ears to loud noises on a regular basis, your eardrums and the bones of the inner ears are put under a great deal of strain, which can lead to ringing, buzzing, or clicking.

Beyond the periodic ringing in your ears, exposure to loud sounds over a long period can trigger temporary or permanent hearing loss. Listening to music at a sensible volume and using ear protection when needed is essential for hearing health.

Safeguarding Your Ears

Tinnitus is not something you should disregard regardless of which one of these is the cause. It’s best to have your ears examined by a hearing specialist on a regular basis. If you suspect the ringing in your ears has a serious underlying medical cause, you should get them checked for your peace of mind.

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Schedule an appointment to see if hearing aids could benefit you.