subject: Unilateral Tinnitus and Its Causes [print this page] Tinnitus may affect one or both earsTinnitus may affect one or both ears. Bilateral if it affects both ears; and if it affects one, it's called unilateral. Tinnitus could be heard of only by the affected unless it is a pulsatile type of tinnitus. A pulsatile tinnitus is when the sound could not only be heard of by the sufferer but also by a person near him. This is a rare condition though. It only has 3 percent of the total number of those having tinnitus problem. And among the 2 types of tinnitus, it is the unilateral tinnitus that is more common.
Buzzing in one ear or tinnitus in left ear are other names for unilateral tinnitus. A basic cause for a tinnitus would be impacted earwax. This is easy to solve. A person just needs to visit his doctor and have it removed. Trying to remove it may cause further damage in the ear. Doctors use the special instruments to take out the impacted earwax safely. Ear infection may also cause a ringing ear. One problem is found in this condition. Some of the medications for this might cause further unilateral tinnitus. And there are other drugs that might trigger this condition such as: anti-depressants, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, ibuprofen, anti-malarial, oral contraceptives and chemotherapy.
A severe trauma in the head may bring about a problem in the components of the middle ear. In effect of these damaged nerves is that it may send wrong data to the brain. The external sounds such as the high decibel and the constant exposure to loud sounds will damage the hair cells, causing then a unilateral tinnitus. When normal, these hair cells on the cochlea transform sound waves into electrochemical currents relaying auditory information to the brain. But if the factors damage it, it will send falls signal to the brain, thus resulting to a tinnitus.
As it hasn't been proven to cause a ringing in the ear, it may still be related to unilateral tinnitus. A study has it that an excessive stress will cause a chemical imbalance in the body. The chemical imbalance could turn fluid levels in the ear to be unstable. This unstableness will then cause an ear ringing symptom. Diets must be monitored for those who have tinnitus. Cessation of salty diet, high caffeine intake, too much alcohol, too much fat, and nicotine must be considered as it may increase the possibility of a tinnitus.
What could be a simple problem as the unilateral tinnitus may lead to a permanent hearing loss if the person neglects his condition or will self medicate. It is always best to get the opinion of the experts for the condition as tinnitus is just a symptom of an underlying disease. The best way is to have an evaluation of why it occurs and have the real cause be treated. There have been so many ways to treat unilateral tinnitus but what would be treated on would be the primary concern that must be considered.
