Is increasingly worsening tinnitus cause for concern?what are some of the causes of an increased volume or persistence of ringing?

Persistent Tinnitus: Great quest. Although tinnitus is a common (typically benign) condition, it is worth mentioning any changes to a specialist. It can result from a # of diff causes (meds, vascular, neurologic) but most are idiopathic (unknown cause). Standard eval inclds a hearing test, followed by an ENT exam. History is important, so before your visit, try to write down all your sympt's & what makes better/worse.

Check it out: Tinnitus, or sound in 1 or both ears, is fairly common & ranges from annoying to disabling. It's causes range from unknown to dangerous. It tends to worsens with age. It should be checked out by your doc or ent, and immediately if associated with hearing loss, medications, dizziness, ear pain, headache. More good info at uptodate http://tinyurl.Com/7nbadyt.

See ENT: This would be best answered by an ENT doctor who could do appropriate testing.

It should be checked: It should be checked out. Most tinnitus is due to hearing damage from noise exposure. However, there are more serious conditions that can cause it, including tumors inside the skull, medications, and an inner ear disorder called meniere's disease. You should see your doctor and have audiometric testing done to determine if further studies are needed.

A lot of causes: Causes are quite variable. Meds (aspirin, diuretics, some antibiots), ear wax impaction, exposures (noise, esp, but also toxins), blood vessel disease (pulsatile tinnitus), infections (several, inc lyme dz, chronic otitis media), also, meniere's dz, which can be ass. With dizziness also. Often it ends up being "idiopathic" (cause unknown). The place to start is your primary md, then p'haps ent.