Stop Ringing in Ears

That ringing in the ears (also called tinnitus) that you get after hearing loud music is often due to damage caused to the microscopic endings of nerves in your inner ear. Tinnitus may signify underlying nerve damage or an issue with your circulatory system. Although the most helpful routine to stop ringing in your ears is prevention, there are steps that you can take to treat the ringing buzz even after the damage is done. Read on for helpful hints and tips.

Steps

Treating Momentary Ringing in the Ears

1. Try the skull-thumping trick. If you're coming home from a concert or a club, and your ears won't stop ringing, it's because you've damaged some of the little hairs in your cochlea, which causes inflammation and stimulation of nerves. Your brain interprets this inflammation as constant ringing or buzzing, and this trick can help make that annoying sound go away.
   • Cover your ears with your palms. Your fingers should be pointed back and resting on the back of your skull. Point your middle fingers toward each other at the very back of your skull.
   • Rest your index fingers on top of your middle fingers.
   • Using a snapping motion, flip your index fingers down off your middle fingers and onto the back of the skull. This motion will sound like the beating of drums. Because the fingers will also hit your skull, the noise may be quite loud. This is normal.
   • Continue snapping your fingers onto the back of your skull 40 to 50 times. After 40 or 50 times, see if the ringing has subsided.
2. Try waiting it out. Ringing in the ears that is caused by exposure to loud noises usually goes away after a few hours. Take your mind off it by resting and staying away from anything that might exacerbate the symptoms. If the ringing doesn't go away after 24 hours, visit the doctor for further treatment.

Treating Chronic Ringing in the Ears

1. See your doctor about treating underlying conditions. Much of the time, tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, is caused by a treatable condition. Treating this underlying condition may help remove some or all of the ringing.
   • Have your doctor remove earwax from your ear. Alternately, do it safely yourself. Removing an excess buildup of earwax can help relieve symptoms of tinnitus.
   • Have your doctor take a look at your blood vessels. Blood vessel conditions such as impaired blood circulation may make tinnitus worse.
   • Have your doctor re-examine the interactions of your medications. If you take several medications, talk with your doctor about possible side-effects that could be causing the ringing in your ears.
2. Treat tinnitus with noise-suppression tactics. Several different noise-suppression tactics are used by doctors to mask the sound of ringing in your ears. These tactics include the following devices and techniques.
   • Make use of white noise machines. White noise machines that produce "background" sounds, such as rain falling or wind whooshing, may help drown out the ringing in your ears.
     • Fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers and air conditioners also serve as effective white noise machines.
   • Make use of masking devices. Masking devices are fitted over ears and produce a continuous wave of white noise to mask the chronic ringing.
   • Wear hearing aids. This is especially effective if you have hearing problems in addition to tinnitus.
3. Take medications to ameliorate some of the tinnitus symptoms. Although medications probably won't completely rid you of the ringing, taking medications can make the ringing sound less noticeable if effective.
   • Talk to your doctor about tricyclic antidepressants. Tricyclic antidepressants can be effective for severe tinnitus, but have some undesirable side-effects, such as dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation and heart problems.
   • Talk to your doctor about Alprazolam. Better known as Xanax, Alprazolam has been shown to be effective in reducing tinnitus buzzing, but is habit-forming and also has undesirable side-effects.
4. Try ginkgo extract. Taking ginkgo extract three times a day (with meals) may help increase blood flow to the head and neck, reducing the ringing caused by blood pressure. Try taking ginkgo for two months before evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment.

Preventing Tinnitus

1. Avoid situations in which damage to the cochlea could cause tinnitus. Because tinnitus is so hard to treat, the most effective option is to avoid causing it in the first place, or avoid making the symptoms worse.The following may exacerbate the symptoms of tinnitus:
   • Loud noises. Concerts are the main culprit, but construction work, traffic, airplanes, gunshots, fireworks, and other loud noises can also be harmful.
   • Swimming. Water and chlorine can get stuck in your inner ear while swimming, causing or intensifying your tinnitus. Keep this from happening by wearing earplugs while swimming.
2. Find an outlet for your stress. If you have constant ringing in your ears, any stress might make the condition worse. Find ways such as exercise, meditation, and massage therapy to relieve your stress.
3. Consume less alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. These substances increase the stress put on blood vessels by dilating them. This happens especially in the inner ear. Limit your intake of alcoholic beverages, coffee and caffeinated teas, and tobacco products to reduce the symptoms.
4. Stay off the salt. Salt weakens your body's blood circulation, causing high blood pressure and making tinnitus potentially worse.

Tips

• Making efforts to boost your immune system is also needed on how to stop ringing in ears. This will help you stay away from infections and diseases that may increase the level of the unwanted sound. Also, an improvement in your health can mean an improvement in your tinnitus. Have a healthy lifestyle, which especially includes a healthy diet, proper and regular and exercise, and enough sleep at night.

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