What is Tinnitus? Causes & Treatment Strategies

Chances are you or someone you know suffers from tinnitus, a phantom sound described as a continuous ringing, buzzing or whistling. This sound is perceived within the ears or the head that occurs without any external source of sound. However, it is not the ear that is responsible for tinnitus though it may be one factor. Instead, the cause of a person’s tinnitus can be found in the brain! Learn more about tinnitus and treatment strategies.

Replicate and share your tinnitus using an online tinnitus matcher:

Audio notching in the treatment of tinnitus:

Normal (0:27)
Tinnitus (1:29)
Treatment (3:26)

What is the most common tinnitus frequencies?

This video produced by Dr. Chris Chang:

#tinnitus #tinnitustreatment #tinnituscauses #ringingofears #ringingears #buzzingears

[gahsjdjnjajdbbxjwjebbfjdje]

Last month I have a tinnitus, which makes me worried about my future and self, this ringing brought me anxiety. Later then I ask God to help me out, I read Bible and the driven life purpose book that helped me a lot to connect with God finding my true purpose. After days and weeks that has passed I learned to don't be bothered by this ringings and live my life according to God's purpose....And yesterday a miracle happened, God granted my prayers He allowed my tinnitus to heal, like I can't explain how it happened, like just suddenly! And for that I am very thankful to God, not just for healing my tinnitus but also for transforming me into a new person. God is so good, He just need to see our faith, He works in disguise, things are not always impromptu, God needs our patience.

[rearranged]

Why would you add ringing to the video when we are already hearing a sickening ringing!!

[entrippyZ]

i only get tinnitus if i think about tinnitus. anyone else like this? its like thinking of the word itself prompted my brain to provide an example... thanks brain! its this annoying loop of dont think about tinnitus, but then i just thought about tinnitus

[opossum]

Anyone looking up this video could probably do without that high-pitch sound you just played. Thanks.

[johnreycerbito]

I want to share my treatment naturally.
1. Drink ginger tea everyday or hot water
2. Avoid cold drink and avoid cold
3. Take a bath with warm water before you leave in a bath cover the ear using your hand and pump 15 times.
4. Avoid loud noise
5. Sleep regularly and avoid lack of sleep
6. Every morning be exposed to the sun 8am to 8:30am
7. Exercise daily like walking jogging running
8. Stop smoking
9. Avoid drinking coffee
9. Dont negative think get relax
10. Be positive and always thankful to god
Note: do this every day and follow my step until the tinnitus disappears completely.

[Caution]

Can confirm. I was on Zoloft for 7 months and it introduced me to a loud, sharp tinnitus that was higher when the dosage was higher too. Even after stopping the medication for over 2+ months, the tinnitus is still here and permanent. So annoying. I'll likely seek out TRT therapy. Thanks for the valuable information!

[strideman]

I have excellent hearing, in fact, I'm a musician. I've also had tinnitus for as long as I can remember, so this explanation of the cause being due to inner ear damage can't be correct for everyone. Also, it's never bothered me; if anything, I find it rather interesting. I have no idea what total silence "sounds" like. In fact, the quieter the environment is, the louder my tinnitus is, probably because the tinnitus isn't being drowned out by other sounds.

[melschevelle]

When the power goes out like last night, my tinnitus wakes me up because my life saving fan noise goes out. I cannot even begin to sleep without some type of loud fan noise or my tinnitus will try to kill me. If you know what I’m talking about, I feel your pain. You are not alone. The only time I don’t hear it is when I’m asleep. It’s so loud. 3 consecutive eardrum surgeries did it for me. To be completely honest I’d rather have completely lost my hearing in this one ear than hear this all the time. It’s as close to painless torture as you can get.

[happynappy]

Look after your hearing people. Use earplugs when at concerts, or music events, or when using machinery. Avoid listening to loud music on headphones constantly also. It's not just loud noise that damages your hearing either, but constant noise at just 60db over a continued period of time. Hearing damage for most people isn't something you notice coming on slowly. Most of the time it's just a case that it hits you over the head, and then you have it. At which point it's then too late, and irreversible. Be warned ⚠️

[anthonythemaster]

The ringing in my head doubles right now after watching this video! Great! 😫

[ashg]

Watching this video really didn’t help me feel better. Just started suffering from it and I’m very worried about it

[denisegesilva]

Magnesium Citrate 420mg tablet, twice a day, worked to lessen my mild tinnitus after around 4 days. I don't know if it will work for anyone here who has a severe case though. Mine was mild, just usually lasts 1 second and annoyingly happened as I approach the REM stage in my sleep (so that's why I thought it might be a blood pressure or nervous system problem that can be fixed with a supplement). I hope this information helps some of you.

[BeyondEcstasy]

It feels so good to go to loud music shows. But eventually the body pays a price.

[OhFishingMyFirstLove]

Thank you so much for putting out this video illustration. I suffered from tinnitus on both ears or it might just be my left ear but echoes in the right. Tinnitus first occured in my left ear at age 32. I'm 40 now. The left is loudest. infinitely. I think it was caused by loud music that I used to listen to when I was 22. I used to have two 12 inch JL Audio sub woofers in the back of my trunk. A doctor once told me loud music will damage my hearing. But I didn't paid no heed. I was young and dumb. Now I have to live w tinnutus.

[fullbridgeelectric]

I have tinnitis since I have been 20, now I am 40yrs old. I dont know how silece looks like. The origin of my tinnitis was loud music sound. One day when I listen music from home theatre, in a moment that i remember very well, something happened in my both ears like a brooken something. Since that day I never stop hearing that pitching noise. I learned live with that with no choice.

[richduerr]

I also have had tinnitus for about as long as I can remember, at least by about 10 years old when I became aware of it. I was never exposed to any loud noises, and passed every hearing test, except that I was missing one particular frequency. I lived in a very, very quiet place, I assumed, and still think maybe my brain was trying to put sound where sound didn't exist. I also had miild hallucinations back then where I would see amazing moving patterns in the dark at night, with eyes closed, or at night looking at the sky. I should note that I had very poor vision that was undiagnosed at the time. Back then, the ringing in my ears was a low pitch, like a gong, or an old bell. I'm now 57 years old, the sound, which doesn't really bother me that much, and never really has except in quiet conditions, is very high pitched, but also very constant, ringing at this very moment. This video, at 2:53 is producing a slightly lower pitch than my usual ringing, more like when I was in my 20's. It really had me questioning my own self-diagnosis, until I hit pause and realized that your video is duplicating what I hear, only at a somewhat lower frequency. Those night time visual hallucinations, which only happened in pitch darkness, which were actually pretty amazing actually, I believe to be related to sensory deprivation. I think tinnitus is also related to that, but that is just my guess.

[CherrieHibayainternetjunkie]

Depending on what causes it, It's not curable but you can lessen the high pitch ringing. I have it for 5 years now..

[KaneolaMaui]

Water behind your ear drums, dry out your ears, mom put hot wash cloth heated on a light bulb, then laid my ear on the wash cloth repeat if have to, until you hear a release, I also now wear ear plugs, because I still am swimming as much as possible

[OR]

My mum has tinnitus. I want to find her a cure. I cry to find her a cure. My mum has changed ever since she got tinnitus, she always seems to be quiet and sad. I don't want her to live with tinnitus for her whole life, I hope there's a cure coming soon! She has had tinitus for about 2-3 years? My mum always gets annoyed by the constant ringing noise in her ears.
I want my mum to be in peace as how she was few years ago, stress free. Doctors said her tinnitus is permanent, the only thing she can do is get hearing aids. Tinnitus has turned my mum into a new person. I feel extremely bad that I can't do anything, I want to help her. Any tips on what I should do?

[layeeqqadri]

A device was developed by Susan Shore, Ph.D. and a research team at the University of Michigan. It may be submitted for FDA consideration under the company name Auricle. 

It is a device that uses auditory and somatosensory (certain types of senses) stimuli to the face and neck. This is in the form of headphones and electrodes. Bi-modal stimulation means two kinds of nervous system stimulation are done at the same time. Sound signals that match your tinnitus frequency are specifically timed and paired with small electrical pulses that activate nerves. These nerves are touch sensitive and are believed to affect tinnitus. The pulses are both to reset damaged nerves and suppress the neurons that cause tinnitus. May Allah bless all