The health-care professional may ask questions in regard to the quality of the abnormal sound, and whether it is constantly present or whether it comes and goes. The patient's history and description of symptoms is the key in determining what might be causing tinnitus. QUESTION What is hearing loss? See Answer Examples of barotrauma include pressure changes from scuba diving or changes in air pressure when flying. This includes barotrauma, whereby air pressure changes can damage ear function. Trauma may also be a cause of tinnitus and hearing loss.Otosclerosis: Otosclerosis, which is caused by abnormal bone growth in the middle ear, can sometimes cause tinnitus.Aging: As people age, their hearing may decrease and there can be associated tinnitus.

Meniere's disease, which is associated with hearing loss and vertigo also may cause tinnitus.Causes may include drug toxicity or a tumor (for example, acoustic neuroma).

Damage to the vestibulocochlear nerve: Damage to the vestibulocochlear nerve responsible for transmitting sound from the ear to the brain may cause tinnitus.Temporomandibular joint ( TMJ) abnormalities may cause a repeated clicking sound in the ear.Multiple sclerosis and other neurologic diseases that are associated with muscle spasms may also be a cause of tinnitus, as they may lead to spasms of certain muscles in the middle ear that can cause repetitive clicking. This causes the Eustachian tube, which helps equalize pressure in the ears, to repeatedly open and close. Muscle spasms: Tinnitus that is described as clicking may be due to abnormalities that cause the muscle in the roof of the mouth (palate) to go into spasm.Blood flow and/or tumors: Tinnitus that is throbbing (pulsatile) may be due to blood flow through arteries and veins adjacent to the ear, as well as tumors that are vascular, meaning that they have increased blood flow within them.It begins in the ear with the tympanic membrane and the cochlea, where the sound is transmitted and transformed into electrical energy for the brain to perceive. Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease, and it has a variety of causes that may arise anywhere in the hearing mechanism.

What does the anatomy of the ear look like?

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