Why are my ears ringing?

Symptoms:

6 You’re middle-aged and are experiencing attacks of ringing, buzzing and whistling in your ears and you feel dizzy. Your hearing is diminished. You’ve got a sudden attack of dizziness, you’re unsteady and the room spins, plus ringing in your ears. You may also feel nauseous, vomit and have difficulty focusing your eyes.

You’ve noticed gradual loss of hearing in one ear and occasionally you feel dizzy and have ringing in your ears.

It could be: Meniere’s disease,a

disorder of the inner ear which is responsible for hearing and balance. Meniere’s disease usually affects only one ear. Labyrinthitis, an inner ear disorder where one of the nerves to the inner ear becomes inflamed. It’s commonly brought on by a viral infection.

An acoustic neuroma, a non-cancerous tumour that grows on the nerve connecting the ear to the brain. These tumours are benign and don’t spread but they may grow large and press on the acoustic nerve. One in 50,000 people gets acoustic neuroma. Stop it:

Many people will go into remission within a few years. See your doctor for a hearing test, EEG and balance tests. Medicines for motion sickness can help Meniere’s, as can a diuretic. The symptoms usually clear up within three weeks. Your doctor can prescribe medication for dizziness and nausea. If vertigo persists, vestibular rehabilitation exercises help.

Treatment isn’t always necessary, your doctor may just monitor its growth with regular MRI scans. Very precise stereotactic radiosurgery can halt the tumour growth.