Thursday, February 23, 2012

Is that the Phone? Medical V. Superstition

Information: Many people experience an occasional ringing (or roaring, hissing, buzzing, or tinkling) in their ears. The sound usually lasts only a few minutes. Ringing in the ears that does not get better or go away is called tinnitus. You may hear a sound, such as a ringing or roaring, that does not come from your surroundings (nobody else can hear it). The sound may keep time with your heartbeat, it may keep pace with your breathing, it may be constant, or it may come and go. Tinnitus is most common in people older than age 40. Men have problems with tinnitus more often than women.

There are two main types of tinnitus.
  • Pulsatile (like a heartbeat) tinnitus is often caused by sounds created by muscle movements near the ear, changes in the ear canal, or blood flow (vascular) problems in the face or neck. You may hear sounds such as your own pulse or the contractions of your muscles.
  • Nonpulsatile tinnitus is caused by problems in the nerves involved with hearing. You may hear sounds in one or both ears. Sometimes this type of tinnitus is described as coming from inside the head.
                       THE RINGING SUPERSTITION........

Is Somebody out there?


Concepts: Like any normal human being, I get the occasional ringing in my ears. Here is what I found:

When your left ear rings, somebody talks well about you.  When your right ear rings, somebody talks poorly about you.  The way to figure out who this somebody is, is to quickly go through the list of names that comes into your head (some believe that you say this list out loud in order for it to really work, but I don’t see how the list can change depending on whether or not you say it out loud), and the last name you think of/say before the ringing stops is the person who is either giving you a bad name or speaking well about you.
So, that’s why my right ear is always ringing?!


Fun example of ringing in the ears, in the film, Prayers for Bobby:

                                        Psychiatrist: Do you hear any voices?
Bobby Griffith: No.
Psychiatrist: Do you hear any ringing noises?
Bobby Griffith: No. Was that the telephone?



My Point of View on Ringing in the ears, is everyone in life is going to experience a time in thier lives where somehting is going to happen and they may believe that it is from a source outside of our bodies. They do not feel as though something is wrong within their bodies, but in fact worry more about perception. They care about what people think about them, and not as much about the medical necessity that they may have to cater too.

Consequences of ignoring or not paying full atteniton tot he ringing in your ears can be a serious problem. There are many medical concerns that can arise due to ringing in your ears. So many people in our society ignore what is going on in their bodies. The ringing can last seconds, days or reoccur over a long period of time. Ignoring these issues can cause a worse and more life threatening problem in the future. We need to care and focus less on the rumor and urband legend of ringing in our ears as someone talking about us, and take note to the ringing and seek help when not controllable. many sysmptoms and problems that arise from ringing in the ear are :

  • A buildup of earwax.
  • Medicines, especially antibiotics or large amounts of aspirin.
  • Drinking an excessive amount of alcohol or caffeinated beverages.
  • Ear infections or eardrum rupture.
  • Dental or other problems affecting the mouth, such as temporomandibular (TM) problems.
  • Injuries, such as whiplash or a direct blow to the ear or head.
  • Injury to the inner ear following surgery or radiation therapy to the head or neck.
  • A rapid change in environmental pressure (barotrauma).
  • Severe weight loss from malnutrition or excessive dieting.
  • Repeated exercise with the neck in a hyperextended position, such as when bicycle riding.
  • Blood flow (vascular) problems, such as carotid atherosclerosis, AV malformations, and high blood pressure (hypertension).

  • http://youtu.be/kM5DeJTNXuI 

    My Interpretation and Conclusion to Ringing in the Ears is, I personally have experienced ringing in my ears, a lot. I too have believed in the urban legend that someone is talking about me if my ears are ringing. I never used to believe that something could be medically wrong or that it was an issue that should be checked out, and now I know that I am wrong. Do you experience ringing in your ears? Do you believe someone is talking about you? We need to put the superstition aside and take control of our bodies and our health.

    Sites I used:
    http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/ringing-in-the-ears-tinnitus-topic-overview
    http://ringinginears.biz/.

    2 comments:

    1. Great post! I've always found the topic of tinnitus interesting, having occasionally experienced it myself. I had no idea that so many other factors could cause the condition besides excessively loud noises. I only seem to get tinnitus if I hear a sudden, loud noise (e.g. my little dog yapping in my ear). Thus, I have never believed in superstitious belief surrounding tinnitus; instead, I just take it as a symptom of harm or stress on the body.

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    2. This is a great post because I too get the occasional ringing in my ears and my mother would always feed me the superstition of "Someone must be talking about you!" I will admit that as a little kid I believed her but as I grew up I knew that couldn't possibly be true.

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