If you ever wondered why some people get tinnitus and others don’t, then this guide is for you. In it, we explore the main driving factors behind why a lot of patients develop ringing in the ears and why it can last so long.
By the end of this post, you will understand more about the risk factors involved in getting tinnitus and some of the reasons why a lot of people are spared from the condition even though they have poor hearing.
So, what are we waiting for? Let’s get on with the article.
Inflammatory Response
One of the reasons some people develop tinnitus but other people don’t is the level of inflammation and oxidative stress response in their body. After a loud noise, some people’s inner ear doesn’t react much at all, leading to reduced inflammation.
However, other people have massive reactions inside their cochlea, which leads to the release of free radicals and damaging oxygen species that destroy tissue. Over time, this loss of tissue can increase the risk of tinnitus.
Vascular Factors
Vascular factors can also play a role. The health of somebody’s arteries may lead to turbulence in the ear which can increase the risk of tinnitus.
Not all of tinnitus is hallucinatory. Some versions of the disease are a function of the force of blood rushing past delicate parts of the inner ear. Many people have anatomical variants like arterial loops near the cochlea which lead to closer proximity to the arterial system. This means that blood sounds like it’s whooshing past every time the heart pumps.
Migraine History
Interestingly, people with a history of migraine are also at a higher risk of tinnitus. The science behind this is not clear, but research shows that people who have regular migraines in their younger years are around 200-300% more likely to develop tinnitus in their older years. The reason for this could be because the auditory pathway and trigeminal nerve may both be sensitive for the same reasons and both are implicated in the conditions.
Preexisting Anxiety And Depression
You may also be at higher risk of tinnitus if you have some sort of pre-existing anxiety or depression disorder. People who find themselves thinking about the past and future a lot or who have hypervigilance are more likely to have the psychological traits that lead to bothersome tinnitus.
People, for example, who score more highly on anxiety scales, can be up to a 1000% more likely to develop tinnitus. Sometimes the condition becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where worrying about it leads to worse symptoms. The good news is that many of these patients can benefit from CBT and other therapies to reduce severity.
Neck And Shoulder Tension
Individuals with a history of neck and shoulder muscle tension are also more likely to experience tinnitus when they are older. The main risk is from sensory overload in the cervical spine that can lead to changes in the auditory pathway. Once these changes occur, they can be difficult to reverse without physiotherapy or advanced massage techniques.
This is one of the reasons why chronic neck pain and whiplash are such detrimental conditions. People who have been involved in car accidents will often go on to develop tinnitus later because of a neck injury they sustained years or decades previously.
Jaw Joint Disorders
Because of the proximity to the auditory nerve, jaw joint disorders and TMJ are also putting some people at higher risk of developing tinnitus. Research and anatomical studies show that the muscles in the jaw are anatomically connected to elements in the inner ear, which could explain why issues with these affect the auditory nerve. Many people with TMJ dysfunction develop tinnitus after several years, sometimes occurring more often when they move their jaws to eat or speak to people.
Fortunately, TMJ and other jaw issues can be fixed relatively easily with the right techniques. Even something as simple as wearing a mouth guard at night can have a positive impact on overall health outcomes.
Strength Of Brain’s Gain Control
Some researchers believe that the strength of the brain’s gain control, or the amount it turns up its own volume to compensate, can affect the development of tinnitus. Some people are not prone to hallucinating sounds at all, even if they have hearing loss. The quiet environment doesn’t induce the brain to increase its sound-seeking activities.
However, other people are more sensitive in this regard and tend to have maladaptive plasticity which increases the likelihood of auditory hallucinations. For example, somebody might have mild deafferentation. However, this could then lead to loud tinnitus if their brain continues to seek external sounds which are not there.
Researching audiologists and tinnitus treatment is a good idea if you’re in this situation. Patients who can get to grips with their particular case are more likely to thrive long-term.
Age-Related Hearing Loss
Of course age-related hearing loss does play a role. The older people get, the more likely they are to accumulate damage in areas of the inner ear. In young adults, the prevalence of tinnitus is less than one in twenty. However, after people get to age sixty, the prevalence rises to around a third of people.
Age-related hearing loss is difficult to fight back against because it is so intrinsic to the body. However, people with healthy diets and lifestyles tend to experience tinnitus at a lower rate than those who don’t pay attention to these factors.
Genetics
Finally, genetics can play a significant role in the development of tinnitus. Researchers following twins for their entire lifespans have found that they tend to develop tinnitus more often than chance would predict. For example, if one twin has tinnitus, there is a higher likelihood that the other child will have tinnitus compared to the general population.
The gene variants that are responsible for this are being researched right now. Some researchers think that the problem is in glutamate signaling, while others think that an oxidative stress response may be the main pathway.
