Why are my ears ringing?

Symptoms:

You’ve got a ringing noise in your ear and you’re feeling dizzy, nauseous and unsteady on your feet. You’ve just had a sore throat and a feverish illness. You have ringing in your ear, plus occasionally roaring, buzzing, whistling and hissing. Your hearing is also deteriorating. You suddenly started to hear ringing noises in one of your ears after suffering a rather severe bump to your head.

It could be:

Labyrinthitis, an inner ear disorder in which the organ that detects head movement becomes inflamed. This condition can follow a viral infection. Meniere’s disease, a disorder that affects the inner ear which is responsible for your hearing and balance. It usually affects only one ear. The cause isn’t known but it could be due to changes in the fluid of the inner ear.

An eardrum rupture which is a hole or tear in your eardrum. This membrane divides your middle ear from the outer ear canal. It vibrates when soundwaves hit it and conducts sound to the inner ear.

Stop it:

Rest sitting up and keep your head as still as possible. An attack of labyrinthitis can last for anything from a couple days to several weeks. Ask your doctor for medication and also a specialist physiotherapist who can perform a particular manoeuvre to restore your balance. As with any long-term disease, lifestyle changes can help to ease the symptoms so eat a healthy, balanced diet, don’t smoke and don’t drink. See your doctor who may try motion sickness tablets or a diuretic. A ruptured or perforated eardrum usually heals without any treatment. It rarely leads to permanent hearing loss but consult your doctor as soon as possible for an examination. Don’t insert anything into your ear canal.