The inner ear has two main functions: hearing and balance. Some conditions that affect the inner ear can cause changes to the hearing and balance portions of the ear, leading to dizziness and tinnitus. However, the big question is whether tinnitus and dizziness are linked. Many people suffering from tinnitus also experience vertigo or dizziness.
What Causes Tinnitus?
Tinnitus can develop for a few different reasons. It is common in people who suffer from hearing loss and is usually permanent. However, you may also experience tinnitus if you are exposed to deafening noise over a period of several hours, in which case the condition is temporary and goes away.
In addition, some medical conditions can also cause tinnitus, including vertigo, and many people with vertigo also report tinnitus.
What is Vertigo?
Vertigo is a condition that causes dizziness and disorientation. A person might feel perfectly fine in one moment but then suddenly feel the sensation of the room spinning around. If you have vertigo, you most likely experience these symptoms when your head is in a different position, such as lying down.
There are several types of vertigo, but the most common one is benign, paroxysmal positional vertigo. It is caused by the crystals in the ear coming out of their normal position. When a person’s head is in a certain position, it can cause symptoms of vertigo, such as dizziness that can range from mild to severe, with additional symptoms including vomiting and nausea.
What is the relationship Between Tinnitus and Vertigo?
There is a close link between tinnitus and vertigo. Both involve the inner ear, which has structures such as the cochlea, which is responsible for hearing, and the vestibular system. Because the structures are so close to each other, damage to the inner ear can often affect both structures and cause both symptoms.
What Conditions Cause Both Tinnitus and Dizziness?
Some of the conditions that can cause both dizziness and tinnitus include the following:
Meniere’s Disease
Meniere’s disease is a rare condition that affects the inner ear, and it affects less than 0.5% of people globally. Its symptoms include tinnitus and vertigo, among others, such as:
- Hearing loss
- Ear fullness (feeling like your is full or plugged).
- Headaches
Labyrinthitis
This condition affects the labyrinth of the ear, an organ that houses the cochlea and vestibular systems. It can cause temporary vertigo and hearing loss, with tinnitus as one of the symptoms.
Brain Tumours
Some non-cancerous brain tumours can cause vertigo and tinnitus simultaneously. Acoustic neuroma is one benign tumour that could cause these symptoms. It grows on the nerve connecting the inner ear to the brain. A Cholesteatoma, a tumour that grows in the middle section of the ear and behind the eardrum, is also known to cause tinnitus and vertigo.
These conditions can also cause other symptoms, such as:
- Hearing loss
- Pressure in the ear
- Pain in or behind the ear
- Facial numbness
Otosclerosis
Otosclerosis is a condition that happens when a bone in the ear called the stapes in the middle of the ear becomes stuck in place.
Hearing loss may appear gradually with this condition. It starts in one ear before the condition affects the other ear as well.
Medications can also cause dizziness and tinnitus. Common medications that can cause these side effects include:
- Antibiotics such as gentamicin and tobramycin
- Anti-malarial medications
- Autoimmune medicines, such as the ones used for arthritis
- Chloroquine
- Hydroxychloroquine
Genetic Conditions
A couple of genetic conditions can also have symptoms involving tinnitus and dizziness. These include enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) and usher’s disease.
Both of these conditions are genetic and present from birth. They are mostly diagnosed in childhood, but it is also possible for the condition to go unnoticed until adulthood.
EVA is caused by a malformation of the structure that connects to the inner ear. While dizziness is not as common as hearing loss in those with this condition, it is a symptom that has been reported.
Usher’s disease affects balance and hearing and also has some visual symptoms. People with this condition often report both dizziness and tinnitus symptoms.
Vestibular Migraines
Vestibular migraines are headaches with a spin. They present a unique and usually misunderstood type of migraine that diverges widely from traditional migraines. These are not simply migraines with an added symptom of dizziness but rather centre around episodes of vertigo and severe dizziness that persist from a few minutes to hours. They can severely affect an individual's ability to function.
If you're suffering from a vestibular migraine, you may suddenly experience a wave of dizziness, spinning, or tilting. These unsettling symptoms are also accompanied by changes in hearing, which adds another layer of distress.
The heightened stress that comes with these episodes can also trigger or make tinnitus worse in people who already have it.
Intracranial Hypotension
Intracranial hypotension is a fancy way of describing a medical condition that puts the labyrinth under pressure. It is a rare condition that occurs in the brain. It happens when you have low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure, often because of a leak, leading to dizziness and tinnitus. The low quantities of the CSF diminish the buffer it provides, causing various effects.
The condition can be managed by identifying and addressing the underlying cause of the CSF leak, among other strategies, to alleviate the symptoms associated with it.
If you suddenly experience tinnitus and dizziness, along with other neurological symptoms like numbness in the limbs or face and difficulty with speech, you should visit the emergency room. Vertigo and tinnitus can also be caused by a stroke.
If you have tinnitus and dizziness as symptoms, you should see a physician for evaluation. You can also come to London Hearing for a hearing test and examination to determine your ear condition.