Tinnitus 

Introduction 

Tinnitus

An audiologist explains the possible causes and effects of tinnitus, plus how to deal with them. Ashleigh, who was diagnosed with tinnitus in 2005, describes how she copes with it.

Go on a noise diet

It’s never too early, or too late, to look after your hearing. Go on a ‘noise diet’ to protect your ears from damage.

Tinnitus is the medical name for the perception of noise in one ear, both ears or the head. The noise comes from inside the body rather than an outside source.

People with tinnitus can experience different types of sound. Most people describe it as a ringing sound but other sounds may include:

  • buzzing
  • humming
  • whistling
  • music

Sometimes, the noise associated with tinnitus beats in time with a person’s pulse. This is known as pulsatile tinnitus.

Read more about the different sounds of tinnitus.

Tinnitus is often worse at quiet times, such as when you are trying to get to sleep. This is because there is less background noise to distract you from the sounds of tinnitus. The sound may also be more noticeable when you are tired.

Tinnitus is a symptom rather than a condition itself. The sounds are usually only heard by the person who has tinnitus, although in a few rare cases, they can also be heard by other people.

Temporary tinnitus can be caused by a cold, a blow to the head, or prolonged exposure to a loud noise, such as a music concert.

Read more about the causes of tinnitus.

Treating tinnitus

The treatment for tinnitus will depend on the underlying cause.

For example, for tinnitus that is caused by a build-up of earwax, eardrops or ear irrigation may be recommended. Irrigation involves using a pressurised flow of water to remove the earwax.

However, in many cases of tinnitus, there is no cure and treatment aims to manage the symptom on a daily basis.

Read more about treating tinnitus.

How common is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is a common condition. Approximately 1 in 10 people in the UK have some awareness of tinnitus. However, only 1 in 200 people are severely affected by it.

People of all ages can have tinnitus, including young children, but it is more common in older people.

Outlook

Most people learn to live with tinnitus but it can have a significant affect on daily life. For example, it can affect concentration and cause sleeping problems and depression.

There is currently no cure for long-term tinnitus. Therefore, the aim of treatments, such as sound therapy, relaxation therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), is to help people manage their symptoms effectively.

Read more about the treatments for tinnitus.

Last reviewed: 14/11/2011

Next review due: 14/11/2013

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11 Comments

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Comments are personal views. Any information they give has not been checked and may not be accurate.

Claire 0785 said on 01 February 2012

Hi. I'm hoping there is someone that can help or would be willing to offer me some advice. I'm not sure if i have Tinnitus but i have been experiencing a ringing in my ears since the beginning of December 2011, and in my right ear everytime a lady/child talks close to me it feels like my ear drum is 'squirming' around and it sort of crackles. I hear the ringing when i am in quiet places or at night when i am tired. I went to the doctors on 2 occasions and they said that the ear canal/drum looks ok and that there was a small amount of wax and they removed it but nothing has changed. Im so sensitive to sound now and wimper when people are talking to me when they are standing too close. I don't want to keep going back to the doctors for them to keep saying that everything is ok. Can anyone help me? I feel like i'm going mad!! My friends baby has been crying now and its got louder.

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HatterJo said on 16 January 2012

I've had a ringing, buzzing or pulsing noise constantly in my ears ever since I can remember. I remember going to the doctors when I was 5 or 6 and being told I was making it up for attention, and getting really upset because I thought there must be something really wrong with me if even the doctor didn't believe there was a problem.
I'm 18 now and the problem has got progressively worse, up until the point where there are days where I simply cannot hear people speaking to me. I have to use subtitles of the television and usually feel completely alienated in conversations because I miss out on so much. Yet my GP is offering no help whatsoever. I've brought it up on more than one occasion with more than one doctor, but nobody seems to be able to offer any help whatsoever. My dad has the same problem and tells me to just get on with it.
I recently had an inner ear infection, closely followed by ear ache, and this has made the problem much worse. I can't get to sleep, something which has always been a problem but it's never been so distressing as this, and I feel dizzy all the time. It's driving me mad!

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radarman said on 11 January 2012

I have quite loud tinnitus in sometimes a monaural pattern ie. from the centre of my head both sides in phase I presume. Then at another time it appears to be from each side of my head seperately ie out of phase?.
Very occasionally one side may vanish for a fraction of a second but come back, or, both sides, hence my tinnitus has gone completely but again only for a fraction of a second.
I find this difficult to put down to any form of `ear wax` or similar since I think it would not be able to do this.
I sometimes wonder if in fact the part of my brain that deals with hearing is increasing the sensitivity (as possibly happens normally during sleep to protect from predators in the distant past) when it shouldn`t ie during waking hours, is it possible as in electronic circuits that sensitivity can be increased seperately to the volume?
In fact is tinnitus caused by the brain and not hearing?
I would like to hear any other sufferers views.

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Phil Osophy said on 16 December 2011

I'm into my 4th week with tinnitus...a loud, intense and high-pitched noise in my head...feel devastated.
I've discovered there is help - The British Tinnitus Association website is very helpful -:
http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/
Also there brilliant forum provides support and knowledge from other sufferers.

Get a referral from your GP to see an ENT consultant...to determine possible causes...often there is no identifiable cause. Thereafter, you should be referred on to an audiologist or/and hearing therapist.. If your Doctor is not amenable to provide a referral, see another Doctor(s).

Avoid quiet rooms. Playing natural sounds in the background can help distract the brain from tuning in to the noise. Try to avoid stress and be positive...I know, easy to say...

To help me sleep, my GP has precribed Temazepam...they can be addictive, but I'm desperate for some sleep.

Goodluck....

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User621878 said on 03 December 2011

I had Tinnitus 8 years ago. I just had the ringing in the ears and loss of balance, but fortunatley it went after a few months.
Recently i,ve been diagnosed with Tinnitus again, this time its a lot worse. Its unbearable.
Not only do I have a high pitched "percussion" band in my head, my balance is affected, and because of that I get nausious.
I cant/dont sleep well, I average 4 hours before I wake up. I,ve also started getting bad headaches...I dont know if thats related to Tinnitus or maybe severe lack of sleep.
I have to have "aids" fitted in a couple of weeks, so hopefully this will make a change. My G.P wont give me anything to help me sleep, but she did tell me I looked "tired"..good god, "tired" i,m knackered !
Well I,ve had a good moan now...

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Napoleon Plural said on 31 October 2011

I feel there is some misinformation about tinnitus in terms of whether it is curable or not. It depends what kind of tinnitus you have, not all of it is down to loud noise that's damaged the tiny hairs in the ears.

If you've experienced flu, have a recent tendency to drink pints and pints of water, feel exhausted just climbing the stairs, then you may have a virus-related tinnitus which is treatable and can disappear. It can reappear at times of stress or when you are run down. For this I recommend 2 liquid capsule Neurofens before you go to sleep; the reason it wakes you up at night is the body temperature rises, and with it the tendency to inflammation.

Also, have a low, ambient soothing CD on very low to take you out of yourself a bit more, it is when the room is dead silent that you only hear the ringing. This works whether your tinnitus is permanent or not. And avoid most types of coffee, even decaff, and cola drinks.

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llulu said on 30 October 2011

Hello, for the past two weeks i have had a ringing and buzzing senstion in my ears. I had my ears sucutioned yeterday as it was due to wax blockege. When i originally saw my doctor he warned me that the noise can last for about a week after haveing the procedure but when i went to have the treatment, the first thing the nurse said to me was that it could be permanent. I dont think the noise has got any worse but my ears still feel blocked (the left one particularly) and feel as though they are trying to pop and i've noticed a bit of pain too as well as the fact that i can hear myself swallowing.. Is this normal and is it more likely that the noise will go within a few days as it's just down to wax?

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wroostanov said on 04 January 2010

@dragonfly

Have you looked up Meniere's disease? The loss of balance reminded me of this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ménière's_disease

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Menieres-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Hope that helps!

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JEROMEB said on 01 November 2009

I would recommend you see a specialist.
Go to this webpage, it might be of aid to you. this is a french doctor but I believe many information are in English.
http://www.clinique-causse.com/index_uk.html

Hearing tinnitus, noise in the ear is either something due to stress and your brain cannot filter noises out it used to (very simplified) or due to a physical trauma in your ear. The ear got wounded and healed with a scar. the ringing can be the signature of this scar.
Pay attention also that this is not linked with a loss of auditive capacity. If you are exposed to a sudden violent noise (disco very loud, any enclosed places) you might have a sudden hearing trauma (translation from the French)
The loss in hearing related to this is DEFITNITIVE
I was recently told however that if you act very quicly after the trauma (within hours on the same day) you can save your hearing capacity. Acting means going to the right doctor who will probably give you the right type of medication and will probably have you hospitalised for a couple of days maybe a week. I received such a treatment 10 years ago in Germany.

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Mloclam said on 16 July 2009

I've suffered about 7 months now in the left ear. Similarly, it is having a real effect on many aspects of my life - concentration is very difficult and studying my MCP coursework is getting to be impossible, and I've given up hoping for much than four hours sleep a night, until every fourth or fifth night I am so knackered I manage a good nights sleep. It's driving me nuts.

Went to see the GP - he says its all in my head (well, duh!) and suggested inhaling Olbas Oil. Didn't make a bit of difference.

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dragonfly said on 16 May 2009

Have been suffering from this condition for over a year now, and the sound is getting louder and louder.
Only in one ear, and it has caused me dizziness, which then 'helped' me to fall over and cause damage to knees and wrists. I cannot concentrate on anything for long and the noise makes it take ages for me to get to sleep.

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