Ringing (medicine)
Encyclopedia
In hearing
, ringing is an endaural phenomenon
in which a person hears a sound, somewhat like a pure tone
, without any external acoustic
stimulation. Ringing in the ear
s commonly follows exposure to loud noises, and is a sign of damage to the hair cell
s of the inner ear
. Ringing in the ears is a common sort of tinnitus
.
Hearing (sense)
Hearing is the ability to perceive sound by detecting vibrations through an organ such as the ear. It is one of the traditional five senses...
, ringing is an endaural phenomenon
Endaural phenomena
Endaural phenomena are sounds that are heard without any external acoustic stimulation. Endaural means "in the ear". Phenomena include transient ringing in the ears , white noise-like sounds, and subjective tinnitis. Endaural phenomena need to be distinguished from otoacoustic emissions, in which a...
in which a person hears a sound, somewhat like a pure tone
Pure tone
A pure tone is a tone with a sinusoidal waveshape.A sine wave is characterized by its frequency, the number of cycles per second—or its wavelength, the distance the waveform travels through its medium within a period—and the amplitude, the size of each cycle...
, without any external acoustic
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
stimulation. Ringing in the ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
s commonly follows exposure to loud noises, and is a sign of damage to the hair cell
Hair cell
Hair cells are the sensory receptors of both the auditory system and the vestibular system in all vertebrates. In mammals, the auditory hair cells are located within the organ of Corti on a thin basilar membrane in the cochlea of the inner ear...
s of the inner ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
. Ringing in the ears is a common sort of tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus |ringing]]") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.Tinnitus is not a disease, but a symptom that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: abnormally loud sounds in the ear canal for even the briefest period , ear...
.