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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffAnyone can experience tinnitus, but these factors may increase your risk:
- Loud noise exposure. Prolonged exposure to loud noise can damage the tiny sensory hair cells in your ear that transmit sound to your brain. People who work in noisy environments — such as factory and construction workers, musicians, and soldiers — are particularly at risk.
- Age. As you age, the number of functioning nerve fibers in your ears declines, possibly causing hearing problems often associated with tinnitus.
- Gender. Men are more likely to experience tinnitus.
- Smoking. Smokers have a higher risk of developing tinnitus.
- Cardiovascular problems. Conditions that affect your blood flow, such as high blood pressure or narrowed arteries (atherosclerosis), can increase your risk of tinnitus.
References
- About tinnitus. American Tinnitus Association. http://www.ata.org/for-patients/about-tinnitus. Accessed Oct. 31, 2012.
- Dinces EA. Diagnosis and etiology of tinnitus. www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 31, 2012.
- Tinnitus fact sheet. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/staticresources/health/hearing/TinnitusFS.pdf. Accessed Nov. 1, 2012.
- Ruppert SD, et al. Tinnitus evaluation in primary care. The Nurse Practitioner. 2012;37:21.
- Tinnitus. American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. http://www.entnet.org/HealthInformation/tinnitus.cfm. Accessed Nov. 1, 2012.
- Bope ET, et al. Conn's Current Therapy. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2012. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4377-0986-5..C2009-0-38984-9--TOP&isbn=978-1-4377-0986-5&about=true&uniqId=236797353-5. Accessed Nov. 1, 2012.
- Treatment information. American Tinnitus Association. http://www.ata.org/for-patients/treatment. Accessed Nov. 1, 2012.
- Management tips. American Tinnitus Association. http://www.ata.org/for-patients/tips. Accessed Nov. 1, 2012.
- Dinces EA. Treatment of tinnitus. www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Oct. 31, 2012.
- Beatty CW (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 15, 2012.
- Langguth B, et al. Neuroimaging and neuromodulation: Complementary approaches for identifying the neuronal correlates of tinnitus. Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. 2012;6:1.
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