What causes tinnitus?

Tinnitus is not a disease or an illness, it is a symptom generated within a person's own auditory pathways. Although it is often assumed that tinnitus occurs as a result of disease of the ears, this is often not the cause. Tinnitus is frequently linked as a symptom caused by exposure to excessive levels of noise.  Workers are frequently exposed to excessive levels of noise and following their day can have a temporary form of tinnitus.  This is caused by a temporary shift in the hearing frequencies brought on by the excessive exposure to noise.  This is also a common occurrence when listening to very loud music over a sustained period of time.  However after prolonged exposure to excessive noise the tinnitus can become a permanent condition which causes the sufferer anxiety, stress and a loss of sleep in severe cases.

One of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear.  Advancing age is generally accompanied by a certain amount of hearing nerve impairment, and consequently tinnitus.  Today, loud noise exposure is a very common cause of tinnitus, and it often damages hearing as well.  Unfortunately, many people are unconcerned about the harmful effects of excessively loud noise which can often occur at work.