Atherosclerosis
Narrowing of the blood vessels in the ear, caused by high cholesterol or other arterial diseases, can result in the sound of blood flow in the ears to become louder, as the vessels cannot expand and contract as efficiently as they used to. In this type of tinnitus, you may actually be hearing your heartbeat.
High Blood Pressure
Like narrowed blood vessels, high blood pressure can cause you to hear the sounds of blood pumping in your ear. If your heart is beating hard and fast, you may sometimes hear the pulsating noise as tinnitus. High blood pressure can also lead to narrowed blood vessels, worsening the problem.
Vitamin Deficiency
While the precise mechanism is unknown, not getting enough Vitamin A or Vitamin B12 can cause tinnitus. These deficiencies can have other, more serious effects on your heath, so it’s important to remedy the deficiency if that’s the cause of your tinnitus.
Capillary Malformation
AVM, or arteriovenous malformation, can cause kinks or narrow areas in the small blood vessels in your ear to form, resulting in a type of tinnitus described as a “wooshing” noise.
Head Trauma
Ringing in the ears may be caused by a hard hit to the head, and can be due to broken bones, issues with blood vessel, nerve or brain damage, and can be a sign of a concussion. You should see a medical professional after experiencing any head trauma, but if the impact resulted in tinnitus, you will definitely want to get it checked out to avoid further complications.
Sources:
- https://www.medicinenet.com/meniere_disease/article.htm
- https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-tinnitus-basics
- https://www.emedicinehealth.com/tinnitus/page2_em.htm#tinnitus_causes
- https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tinnitus/DS00365/DSECTION=causes
- https://www.healthguidance.org/entry/6089/1/Major-Causes-Of-Tinnitus.html
- https://www.medhelp.org/posts/Neurology/Tinnitus-or-arteriovenous-malformation-AVM/show/295197