Tinnitus
Tinnitus
Tinnitus means hearing sounds that seem to come from inside your body rather than from anything around you. It usually isn't a sign of a serious problem, and in many cases it settles on its own.
Common Symptoms
⚠️ This symptom list is for educational purposes. Having these symptoms does not mean you have this condition. See a doctor for proper diagnosis.
Medicines Commonly Used
⚠️ These medicines are commonly used for confirmed diagnoses of this condition. This is NOT a recommendation or prescription. Treatment must be determined by your doctor.
No medicines have been linked to this condition yet.
When to See a Doctor
When to get medical advice
Speak to your GP practice if:
- you continually or regularly hear sounds such as buzzing, ringing or humming in your ears
- your tinnitus is getting worse
- your tinnitus is bothering you – for example, it’s affecting your sleep or concentration, or is making you feel anxious and depressed
- you have tinnitus that beats in time with your pulse
Causes
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus can develop slowly over time or start suddenly. Doctors don't know the exact reason it happens, but it is often linked with:
- hearing loss
- damage inside the ear from repeated exposure to loud noise or from certain medicines
- a build-up of earwax
- a middle ear infection
- Ménière's disease, a condition that also causes hearing loss and vertigo (a spinning sensation)
- otosclerosis, an inherited condition in which abnormal bone growth in the middle ear leads to hearing loss
Who is affected?
Most people get tinnitus for a short while after exposure to loud noise, such as after a music concert. About 1 in 10 people have tinnitus that does not go away, and about 1 in 100 have severe tinnitus that affects their daily life.
Tinnitus can affect people of any age, including children, but it is more common in people over 65.
Diagnosis
Your doctor can examine your ears to see whether the problem might be something they can treat easily, such as an ear infection or a build-up of earwax. They can also check whether you have any hearing loss.
If needed, your GP can refer you to a specialist for further tests and treatment.
Treatment
How is tinnitus treated
There’s currently no treatment for tinnitus that works for everyone.
If your tinnitus is caused by an underlying condition, then treating that condition may help your tinnitus.
If a cause can’t be found, treatment will focus on helping you manage the condition on a daily basis. This may involve:
- sound therapy – listening to neutral sounds to distract you from the sound of tinnitus
- counselling – to teach you about tinnitus and help you learn to cope with it better
- cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – to help change the way you think about your tinnitus so it becomes less noticeable
- tinnitus retraining therapy (TRT) – to help you start to tune tinnitus out and become less aware of it