Having a whistling ear: it’s an experience we’ve all had at least once. Wheezing in the ears is indeed a fairly common disorder, which can occur continuously and transiently. Usually benign, they can have multiple causes.

What is it ?

This is extraneous noise that the person hears when there is usually no real hearing source. This hissing sound can be heard in one or both ears, occasionally, intermittently or continuously.

To qualify these parasitic noises which can take different forms besides hissing – buzzing, hammering, clicking … – we use the generic term tinnitus. We distinguish between objective tinnitus, which is very rare, linked to real and measurable noise, and subjective tinnitus, which is much more frequent.

Some people with ringing in the ears also suffer from hyperacusis, which is an intolerance to loud noises or have a strong perception of sounds that are normally perceived as weak.

Risk factors

Some people are more prone to developing ringing in the ears:

• the elderly, due to the physiological deterioration of hearing mechanisms with age;
• men, more affected than women by this type of symptoms;
• people exposed to noise by their occupation in particular.

Stress is not a risk factor, but it can increase the perception of this wheezing and therefore worsen its impact on quality of life.

There are multiple causes for this temporary or continuous ringing in the ears.

Exposure to a very loud sound source

After exposure to a loud noise (concert, night at a disco, etc.), you may hear whistling in the ears. Exposure to excessively intense noise (2 hours in a sound environment of up to 91 dB or 15 minutes at 100 dB) indeed causes hearing fatigue resulting in a slight drop in hearing, a feeling of blocked ears, hissing or buzzing. All will generally be transient while the hearing cells in the ear recover.

Following a violent sound or a shock

Exposure to loud sound or shock can cause irreversible damage to the inner ear, with or without perforation of the eardrum. Ear bleeding may then occur, accompanied by wheezing and sometimes dizziness. This type of hearing trauma is an emergency, and requires consulting a specialist without delay.

A plug of earwax

Occasionally, earwax accumulates in the ear canal and creates a plug which can be the cause of whistling, ringing in the ears, feeling of blocked ears, transient hearing loss, itching or even pain in the ear. .

The formation of an earwax plug is favored by inappropriate and repeated cleaning of the ears with a cotton swab, swimming, the frequent use of earplugs and the wearing of hearing aids, but also certain anatomical peculiarities (strong production of earwax, strong hair in the external auditory canal which prevents the earwax from draining properly, ear canal of small diameter).

High blood pressure

Arterial hypertension is characterized by an abnormally high pressure (greater than or equal to 140/90) of the blood on the wall of the arteries, even at rest or in the absence of stress.

Wheezing and ringing in the ears are some of the symptoms of high blood pressure, along with the following: headache, dizziness, palpitations, nosebleeds, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet. The high blood pressure makes the blood flow more audible, hence the so-called pulsatile tinnitus. Other pathologies affecting the blood vessels can also be at the origin of this pulsatile tinnitus: atherosclerosis, abnormality of the capillaries, of the carotid artery or of the jugular.

Hearing loss due to age

Wheezing and other tinnitus can be the first sign of hearing loss, especially in the elderly. We are talking about presbyopia.

An abnormality of the inner ear

A vascular malformation, abnormal muscle contractions, a lesion of the cochlea (part of the inner ear where the receiving organ of hearing, the organ of Corti is located) can be the cause of wheezing which will be objective , that is, real and measurable.

Taking certain medications

Some long-term drugs are ototoxic: they are potentially toxic to the ears. They can damage inner ear cells and cause wheezing, among other annoyances. Some are definitively proven ototoxics: they are mainly antibiotics, diuretics, salicylates (aspirin and related drugs), prescribed drugs against malaria and anticancer drugs. Others are potentially ototoxic, especially after prolonged use or at high doses; this is the case of Ibuprofen (Advil, Nurofen), quinine as well as certain anti-depressants such as imipramine (Tofranil).

Ménière’s disease

This disease, the cause of which remains unknown to this day, manifests itself in the form of attacks combining different symptoms: wheezing or ringing in the ears, intense and sudden dizziness, partial hearing loss, dizziness, loss of balance, rapid eye movements.

Other causes

There are many other causes of ringing in the ears: otitis media, otosclerosis, head trauma, stiff neck, obstruction of the ear canal, etc.

Sometimes no cause is found.

Complications associated with the cause of ringing in the ears

A plug of earwax can cause a transient loss of hearing.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, retinal damage.

If it is a problem with the inner ear, the complication to fear is hearing loss. Ditto following a shock or exposure to a very violent sound, which can permanently impair hearing.

Impaired quality of life

Tinnitus in itself is not dangerous, but when it is intense and continuous, it can become very disabling on a daily basis and have a real impact on the quality of life. In addition to causing insomnia, irritability and trouble concentrating, they are sometimes associated with depression.

Treatment for ringing ear will be for the underlying disease or problem, if identified. 

The earwax plug can be removed by the ENT doctor in the office. To prevent it, it is advisable to avoid using cotton swabs. A simple cleaning of the external duct, with water or with a cotton ball, is enough.

To prevent whistling in the ears resulting from excessive sound exposure, it is advisable to wear earplugs and stay away from the speakers during concerts. After exposure to an intense sound source, it is recommended to rest in silence to let your ears recover.

Following an auditory trauma, an emergency consultation is required (within 48 hours maximum). Drug treatment delivered orally or intravenously should be started quickly to give the best chance of hearing recovery and limit tinnitus.

Hypertension will be treated with hypertensives.

Some inner ear abnormalities can be treated surgically.

In the event of persistent wheezing in the ears, the cause of which remains unknown or impossible to treat, various techniques exist:

• the white sound generator: this device diffuses, in the affected ear, a white sound at low volume, making it possible to mask the whistling;
• wearing a hearing aid;
• cognitive behavioral therapy therapy does not completely suppress tinnitus, but it does improve the way the patient perceives and copes with it, with significant improvement in depression scores and quality of life, according to a meta-analysis .
• Acoustic Habituation Therapy (TAH) or Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) consists in particular of reprogramming your brain so that it filters sounds selectively, using various tools such as relaxation and diversion techniques. attention, etc.