Your ears should only pick up and report to your brain sounds in the world around you. However, from time to time, people experience noises in one or both ears, even when there is no external source for the sounds.
This condition is called tinnitus. The term is derived from Latin (tinnire meaning ‘to ring’), fitting in well with the common phrase used to describe the condition – ringing in ears.
Tinnitus has been described for centuries and history records many eminent people with the condition. Beethoven was famously deaf, but his condition also gave him tinnitus. Other people said to have suffered from the condition include Michelangelo and Charles Darwin. More recent celebrities suffering tinnitus include the Balck Eyed Peas singer Wil.i.am who reports ‘I don’t know what silence is anymore’.
Sounds heard by those with tinnitus include buzzing, swooshing or thumping noises. Sometimes, the noises are rhythmic, appearing in time with your heartbeat but for others, a continuous hum or whine may be heard.
It is more common to experience tinnitus in one ear rather than both. Sounds may come and go, exist at varying levels giveing rise to corresponding levels of annoyance or distress.
Whilst most people with tinnitus cope well, some have been known to become so upset by the condition that they become depressed and suicidal.
So, what are the tinnitus causes? Well, the precise mechanism causing these ‘extra’ noises is not clear. However, what we know is that certain conditions can lead to tinnitus. These include:
- Exposure to loud noises – such as attending a festival
- A build up of ear wax
- Catarrh or mucus
- Infection of the ear – for instance, arising with a cold
- Certain medicines, either prescribed by your doctor, or commonly used ones such as aspirin
Very often, the common causes described above are eliminated, leaving the conclusion that there is no specific cause triggering the problem. If one is in the second half of life and suffering tinnitus, the most likely reason is a reduction of blood flow into the ear. This is the reason that extracts of Ginkgo leaves are sometimes used as treatment for tinnitus.
Ginkgo is probably also one of the oldest known medicinal herbs. The tree originates from Japan and China and for centuries, it has been used as a traditional tonic for the older generation. Neither botanical disease nor modern day atmospheric pollutants appear able to deter Ginkgo trees from strong growth. It is said that one tree even survived the bombing of Hiroshima at the end of the second world war.
Today, research into Ginkgo tells us that the herb has the ability to improve the function of the body’s circulatory system, sending more blood into the capillaries, the blood vessels feeding our tissues.
It is by improving blood flow to the ears that Ginkgo can help those suffering from tinnitus caused by poor circulation.
Source: Avogel
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