An estimate of 66 million people are affected by tinnutis, better known as ringing in the ears. As common as it is, though, it is often misunderstood and majority of its sufferers do not know about it until they have been told so by their doctors. Thus, let us get to know it a little bit more.

Tinnutis is defined as the perception of sound in one or both ears or head. It commonly comes as a ringing noise although it can also come either as a buzzing, booming, clicking, hissing, whistling, or roaring noise.

One thing that must be understood about it is that is not a disease of sorts. Rather, it is a symptom of an underlying medical condition. And while it is not life-threatening in itself, its effects and implications can be severe if it is not properly dealt with. If you experience ringing in the ears, you may be suffering from either of these:

• noise-induced cochlear damage
• Meniere's Disease
• sinusitis or allergies
• stress
• age-associated hearing loss
• earwax impaction
• head injuries
• muscle tension
• thyroid disorder
• vitamin B12 deficiency

It is strongly recommended that you go to a physician if you experience the unwanted noise. He or she can do some exams to determine its root cause. When the root cause is determined, you can get the treatment that is right for you. Unfortunately, there are cases when the root cause is not determined. Thus, there are sufferers who have to do some trial and error in the treatments that they are using and see which works for them best.

While there is no cure for ear ringing because it is not a disease to begin with, various remedies have been made available to provide relief to its sufferers. A combination of treatments can also used to reduce it to ignorable to the extent that it no longer affects your day-today living.

There are sufferers who make use of conventional drugs like antidepressants and anti-anxiety as relief agents. As of yet, however, conventional medicine has not come up with a medication that is specifically formulated to treat ear ringing.

Furthermore, alternative treatments are widely used, including homeopathic tinnitus remedies, herbal preparations, and techniques like acupressure, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, biofeedback, meditation and reflexology. To make the unwanted sound less noticeable, commercial maskers which come as white noise MP3s or CDs and hearing aids have also been made available.

Tinnutis can indeed be a problem, so let us do what we can to prevent ourselves from having it. Simple things like setting the volume of your MP3 player or stereo to a moderate volume and wearing earplugs when going to very noisy places definitely help.