I sometimes hear ringing in my ears, is this unusual?

Not at all. Tinnitus is the name for these head noises, and they are very common. Nearly 36 million Americans suffer from this discomfort. Tinnitus may come and go, or you may be aware of a continuous sound. It can vary in pitch from a low roar to a high squeal or whine, and you may hear it If you in one or both ears. When the ringing is constant, it can be annoying and distracting. More than seven million people are afflicted so severely that they cannot lead normal lives.

Most tinnitus comes from damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ear. The health of those nerce endings is important for acute hearing, and injury to them brings on hearing loss and often tinnitus.

Advancing age is generally accompianied by certain amount of hearing nerve imparement and tinnitus.

Exposer to loud noises is probably the leading cause of tinnitus and often damages hearing as well.