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From: ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems)
Newsgroups: net.bio,net.med
Subject: Re: Originally aspirin; now tinnitus
Message-ID: <2586@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Jan-86 14:45:38 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.2586
Posted: Thu Jan 16 14:45:38 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jan-86 01:13:26 EST
References: <1038@bnl44.UUCP> <688@kitty.UUCP> <2500@amdahl.UUCP> <704@kitty.UUCP> <617@brl-smoke.ARPA>
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Summary: Causes of tinnitus, see Scientific American...

In article <617@brl-smoke.ARPA>, wmartin@brl-smoke.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
> Speaking of tinnitus, I was wondering if someone could either verify or
> disprove the statement I have heard, "Every time you hear a ringing in
> your ear, that means a nerve cell is dying."

I think this is not the case.  (Hoping that his grey cells are not
playing games with him by dying, he presses on :-)  I remember an
article in Scientific American (?) a few years ago about the structure
of the inner ear.  The implication was that ringing was perhaps caused
by a small structure at the nerve end 'leaking' ions.  Physical damage
to this structure, or chemical induced changes, increased 'leakage' and
resulted in tinnitus.  The structures were related to the 'hair' cells
in the organ of corti (I think...).

Thats how I remember it.  Does anyone a) have the article or b) have
a better, newer, more accurate explanation?
-- 
E. Michael Smith  ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems

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