Tinnitus
<p ><b>Tinnitus</b> (<img src="/38d830c5-7df6-5819-b62b-d86c2ae27836.png"/> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >tɪˈnaɪtəs</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English#Key" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >ˈtɪnɪtəs</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:IPA_for_English" title="Wikipedia:IPA for English" >/</a>; from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_language" title="Latin language" class="mw-redirect" >Latin</a> word <i><a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/en:tinnitus#Latin" class="extiw" title="wikt:en:tinnitus" >tinnītus</a></i> meaning "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringing_(medicine)" title="Ringing (medicine)" >ringing</a>") is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound. Tinnitus is not a disease, but a condition that can result from a wide range of underlying causes: neurological damage (multiple sclerosis), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_infection" title="Ear infection" class="mw-redirect" >ear infections</a>, foreign objects in the ear, nasal allergies that prevent (or induce) fluid drain, or wax build-up. Withdrawal from a<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine" title="Benzodiazepine" >benzodiazepine</a> addiction may cause tinnitus as well. In-ear headphones, whose sound enters directly into the ear canal without any opportunity to be deflected or absorbed elsewhere, are a common cause of tinnitus when volume is set beyond moderate levels.</p>
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Tinnitus may be an accompaniment of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensorineural_hearing_loss" title="Sensorineural hearing loss" >sensorineural hearing loss</a> or congenital hearing loss, or it may be observed as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Side_effect" title="Side effect" >side effect</a> of certain medications. However, the most common cause is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise-induced_hearing_loss" title="Noise-induced hearing loss" >noise-induced hearing loss</a>.
As tinnitus is usually a subjective phenomenon, it is difficult to measure using objective tests, such as by comparison with noise of known frequency and intensity, as in an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiometry" title="Audiometry" >audiometric test</a>. The condition is often rated clinically on a simple scale from "slight" to "catastrophic" according to the practical difficulties it imposes, such as interference with sleep, quiet activities, and normal daily activities.<sup id="cite_ref-otohns-1030_0-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus#cite_note-otohns-1030-0" >[1]</a></sup></p>