- Tinnitus
- : "Ringing in the ears" or another noise that seems to originate in the ears or head. Tinnitus is due to diverse causes including ear infections, fluid in the ears, Meniere syndrome, medications such as aspirin and other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), aging, and ear trauma from the noise of planes, firearms, or loud music. In rare situations, tinnitus may reflect an aneurysm or an acoustic neuroma (a benign tumor on the acoustic nerve). Woodwind players are more likely to experience tinnitus than other orchestral players, probably because they usually sit just in front of the brass.
* * *Noises (ringing, whistling, hissing, roaring, booming, etc.) in the ears. [L. a jingling, fr. tinnio, pp. t., to jingle, clink]- t. aurium sensation of sound in one or both ears usually associated with disease in the middle ear, the inner ear, or the central auditory pathways. SYN: syrigmus.- clicking t. an objective clicking sound in the ear in cases of chronic catarrhal otitis media; it may be audible to the bystander as well as to the patient and is supposed to be due to an opening and closing of the mouth of the eustachian tube, or to a rhythmical spasm of the velum palati.- Leudet t. a dry spasmodic click, audible also through the otoscope, heard in catarrhal inflammation of the eustachian tube; caused by reflex spasm of the tensor palati muscle.
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tin·ni·tus 'tin-ət-əs, ti-'nīt-əs n a sensation of noise (as a ringing or roaring) that is caused by a bodily condition (as a disturbance of the auditory nerve or wax in the ear) and typically is of the subjective form which can only be heard by the one affected* * *
n.the sensation of sounds in the ears, head, or around the head in the absence of an external sound source. It can occur with any form of hearing loss or with normal hearing. It is thought to be due to a misinterpretation of signals in the central auditory pathways of the brain. The signals that are misinterpreted can arise in any part of the auditory system: the cochlea, auditory nerve, or within the brain itself. Treatment includes the correction of any underlying condition, counselling, cognitive therapy, relaxation techniques, sound therapy (see white noise instrument), and use of hearing aid. A unified method of treatment that makes use of all of these components is referred to as tinnitus retraining therapy.* * *
tin·ni·tus (tinґĭ-təs) (tĭ-niґtəs) [L. “a ringingâ€] a noise in the ears, such as ringing, buzzing, roaring, or clicking. It is usually subjective in type (see subjective t.). Most classifications stress distinctions between vibratory and nonvibratory types. Called also t. aurium.
Medical dictionary. 2011.
