Doctors call any noise in the ear "tinnitus," which is derived from the Latin "tinnere," meaning to "ring" or "tinkle"--like a bell. The problem can strike anyone, regardless of age or sex, and has affected men and women for ages.

"The problem was hidden for a long time," says Marthyne Brazeau, an audiologist at Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal, "because people were afraid to tell their doctors they heard sounds that others did not."

Tinnitus can take different forms--ringing, buzzing, roaring, whooshing, chirping, beating, humming, even the sound of a waterfall. The sound may be heard in one ear or in both, or it may seem to come from somewhere inside the head. It may appear suddenly or progressively, remain permanent or be intermittent, and can vary in intensity. It may also simply disappear.

Tinnitus comes either subjective (only the person himself hear the sounds) or objective (someone else can hear the sounds, too). "The causes of objective tinnitus include an arthritic jaw joint that creaks when you chew, bones in the neck that makes a grating sound when you turn your head, a blocked eustachian tube in the middle ear that clicks when you swallow, repetitive contractions of the muscles in the palate in the mouth, and blood throbbing as it courses through a partially obstructed carotid artery in the neck on its way to the brain," says Dr. Gary Sy, the medical director of Life Extension Medical Center.

Subjective tinnitus is the more common form. "Subjective tinnitus can occur at any age," says Dr. Sy. "The same mechanism that causes presbycusis (the inability to hear high tones as we get older) also accounts for tinnitus. The tiny hairs in the cochlea of the inner ear that normally convert sound vibrations into electrical energy transmitted to the brain by the auditory nerve are reduced in number and don't function normally."

Ear specialists around the world have recently reported of increasing numbers of tinnitus patients. "At last count, there were upwards of a million deaf people in the Philippines," reports Massie K. Santos, a science columnist for a national daily.

"Determining how many people have suffered some form of hearing loss, however, is much more difficult since some people may not be aware that they have a hearing problem." The auditory system is complex: Sound waves stimulate hair cells in the inner ear, causing electrical impulses to travel along the auditory nerve to the brain. "Prolonged exposure (usually defined as being over 15 consecutive minutes) to anything over 120 decibels (dB) in volume is enough to damage the hair cells in the ear, though we don't feel any pain till the volume exceeds 140 dB," explains Ms. Santos.

How loud is loud? Ms. Santos offers this information: "Students sharing secrets with each other do so at 30 dB, though conservations are usually conducted at volumes of 60 dB. Traffic noise levels begin at 85 Db though they increase considerably when the horns, radios and shouting get factored in.

"The movies Armageddon and Saving Private Ryan reached 118 dB, and rock concerts go to 120 dB. A plane taking off hits a noise level of 140 dB, but profoundly deaf individuals never notice it--though they may detect the sound wave vibrations--since they can't hear anything even at a volume upwards of 120 dB."

"Noise is one of life's great stressors," says Dr. Makis Tsapogas, a professor of surgery and adviser to the World Health Organization. "When you're exposed to loud noises, your blood vessels constrict and less blood flows to the organs."

A study conducted in Netherlands showed that people living on noisy streets suffer more high blood pressure than those in quieter areas. According to them, noise can cause people to get angry more easily, and provoke depression and organic diseases particularly when under stressful situations.

Younger people are more at risk. The Dutch study reported that mothers who lived near airports bore more premature and underweight babies.

Now going back to tinnitus. For many people, tinnitus is a daily annoyance, and it does not take much for the constant hissing and ringing noises to come about. Often, one concert is enough. A study published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health has proven this.

The researchers wanted to know the effects of discotheque noise on the hearing ability of normal hearing young people. In the group that visited the noisier discotheque, 64 per cent experienced some kind of tinnitus while 32 per cent of those going to a less noisy place suffered from tinnitus afterwards. The researchers also found that those who found that the music was too loud were more likely to complain about tinnitus.

By Henrylito D. Tacio