Tinnitus
Also called: Ringing in the ears
A ringing, hissing, buzzing, or roaring sound with no source outside your head. Between 10% and 15% of people have it. It is mostly the hearing system filling in for damaged or tired inner-ear cells.
How common
Does this happen to you?
How it works
The inner ear, the cochlea, is lined with hair cells that turn vibration into nerve signals2. Loud noise, ageing, and some medicines damage these cells1. Ear infections can also cause tinnitus1. The brain still expects signal from the frequencies those cells covered. When it stops arriving, the hearing neurons turn up their own gain and start generating activity on their own. You hear that activity as a tone, a hiss, or a roar1.
Many people hear a faint tone in a quiet room after a loud concert. That is temporary tinnitus.
Tinnitus can also come from the middle ear, the jaw joint, or the neck. Tinnitus that beats in time with your pulse is a separate entry.
How common it is
The 10% to 15% figure1 comes from population surveys. People are asked whether they have noticed ringing or buzzing with no outside source. Studies define tinnitus in different ways, for example by how long the sound has to last1. Rates are higher in older adults and in people with a history of loud noise at work or in the military1. Many people have had a brief version after a loud concert, which is not counted in the persistent figure. Online support communities, such as r/tinnitus, bring together people who live with it long term4.
Is it a problem?
Usually no. Most tinnitus comes from hearing damage, not brain disease1. It does not cause hearing loss, although it often comes with it. When it is loud and constant it can disturb sleep and concentration. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a talking therapy, reduces the stress it causes1. Sound therapy is also used, but the evidence for it is weak1.
Get it checked if the sound:
- pulses with your heartbeat,
- comes with sudden hearing loss, dizziness, or weakness in your face,
- starts after a head injury5.
Tinnitus that starts suddenly together with a drop in hearing needs a doctor right away. That pattern can be sudden sensorineural hearing loss, and early treatment gives the best chance of recovery3.
Wear earplugs at loud events and keep headphone volume moderate. Hair cells do not grow back.
Sources and further material
- Wikipedia Tinnitus
- Wikipedia Sudden sensorineural hearing loss A situation where tinnitus with hearing loss needs quick treatment.
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Related oddities
Pulsatile tinnitus
A whooshing or thumping in one ear that keeps time with your pulse. It is usually the sound of blood flowing near the ear. It often has a treatable cause, so get it checked.
The sound of silence
In a room that absorbs almost all sound, many people hear their heartbeat, their blood, their breath, or a high ringing. True silence is not possible for a living person.
Musical ear syndrome
Some people with hearing loss hear clear, complete music that no one is playing. The brain replays stored songs to fill the silence. Most people with it know the music is not real.
Visual snow
Tiny flickering dots across the whole field of vision, like static on an old TV, present with eyes open or closed. About 2% of people have it. The eyes are fine. The visual part of the brain is over-active.