What's the sensation of ringing in your ear?

Dr. Lekutat's answer:

Almost all of us have experienced the sensation of ringing, beeping or rustling sounds in our ears at one time or another. Called tinnitus, it’s when you hear a sound in your ear that doesn’t come from outside the ear. Generally speaking, the sounds probably don’t even arise within the ear itself, but from other parts of the auditory pathway. That’s why even severing the auditory nerve can’t cure tinnitus. Nowadays doctors believe that tinnitus usually arises in the brain. This can happen, for example, when the brain tries to compensate for impaired hearing by boosting the activity of the auditory nerves, which can result in the sensation of sound within the ear. This impaired hearing can be to age-related hearing loss, or even due to earwax blocking the ear canal. If you begin experiencing persistent tinnitus, it’s a good idea to pay a visit to an ENT specialist, who can determine the cause and provide treatment.