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What Causes Ringing in the Ears and Dizziness?
by Sharon Hopkins
If you experience dizziness and ringing in the ears, you could be suffering from a problem in your inner ear. Vestibular labyrinth, present in the inner ear, helps us maintain our balance. If there is an infection in the inner ear, this could result in dizziness. Ringing in the ears and dizziness are often inter-related, and people who suffer from tinnitus will also experience dizziness.
Causes
If the ringing in the ear and dizziness is constant, you should an appointment with your ENT doctor, so that they can run necessary tests to evaluate your hearing and diagnose the reason behind your discomfort. Some of the common reasons for experiencing dizzy spells and hearing a ringing sound in your ears are as follows:
- The most common cause is an inner ear infection. Once the infection is treated with suitable medication and the ear gets better, the ringing and dizziness should slowly fade away.
- Acoustic neuroma, a non-cancerous tumor, could also be the reason for dizziness and ringing in the ears. This is essentially a benign growth that is located on the acoustic nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain. Ringing in the ears and vertigo are symptoms of an acoustic neuroma. Imbalance and hearing loss are also possibilities, if you have this growth.
- Meniere's disease is another cause of dizziness and ringing in the ear. This results from a head injury or excessive build-up of fluid in the inner ear.
- Vestibular migraines could also be another cause.
What are the Treatment Options?
Depending on the cause of ringing and dizziness, your doctor will prescribe a treatment plan for you. There are also many natural ringing in the ears treatment options, but make sure you consult with your physician before choosing a treatment plan.
- Aromatherapy with essential oils lemon, rose, rosemary, and cypress are recommended to help with better blood circulation. Administer the oil through an aromatherapy diffuser or vaporizer. You could also get a head massage, which will make you feel better.
- Alternative therapy like magnet therapy, hypnosis, acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen, and craniosacral therapy are also being used by holistic healers to control the discomfort and pain one experiences from ringing ears.
- Herbs like hawthorn, gingko biloba, melatonin and black cohosh can be used to help ease the pain.
- Counseling is a good treatment option if you have been diagnosed with tinnitus, as the condition can take a lot out of you emotionally. Relaxing and going for a neck, head and chest massage, and opting for yoga, meditation or biofeedback help to reduce the pain. You could also opt for homeopathy, which has some remedies for this condition.
- Sound therapy is used to distract you form hearing the ringing in the ear. Some of the sounds used are ocean waves, the wind, humming, rainfall, or chants.
- If you still don't feel relief after all this, see your doctor who will look at your condition and treat you or propose techniques that will help you cope better with dizziness and ear ringing.
References:
- http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000702.htm
- http://ent.uci.edu/vertigo.htm
- Illustrated Encyclopedia of Natural Remedies; Dr. C. Norman Shealy; 1998
Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.
Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.
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