Symptoms of tinnitus
Tinnitus (pronounced tin-ni-tus) affects about 15-20% of people and is commonly caused by hearing loss or an ear injury. Often, tinnitus is experienced as a ringing in the ears that only you can hear, but it can be hissing, buzzing, whistling or roaring.
People with tinnitus can also experience hearing loss. If you suffer from hearing loss and tinnitus, then modern hearing aids can help you alleviate both illnesses.
People with this condition often experience hearing loss too. Our quick online test can help you test for tinnitus and understand what you can do about it if you have tinnitus/hearing loss.
* The result of the test may only be used for guidance. Official conclusions about hearing loss/tinnitus can be provided by our certified hearing care experts.
* The result of the test may only be used for guidance. Official conclusions about hearing loss/tinnitus can be provided by our certified hearing care experts.
Your answers indicate that you do not have tinnitus - or that you have non-bothersome tinnitus that is not currently affecting your everyday life. If you experience symptoms of tinnitus in the future, we recommend visiting your local health care provider.
* The result of the test may only be used for guidance. Official conclusions about hearing loss/tinnitus can be provided by our certified hearing care experts.
What causes tinnitus?
There are many possible causes of tinnitus. The most common cause of tinnitus is damage to the sensory cells in the cochlea. This is the snail shell-like organ in the inner ear where sounds are converted into electrical signals. The ringing in your ears is the result of your brain trying to compensate for the loss of hair cells.
Damage to the hair cells here can also cause hearing loss.
Common causes of ringing in the ears include:
Should you take a hearing test?
Tinnitus can generally be divided into two types of physical conditions: subjective and objective.
The most common form of tinnitus is subjective. This type involves you hearing annoying whistling/buzzing/high-pitched noises that aren’t really there.
This type is a rarer form of this condition where your blood vessels or muscles are making noises that are loud enough for you to hear. Your doctor may be able to hear it during your hearing test.
Take the online tinnitus test
There is no cure for tinnitus, but there are many ways you can manage it and reduce its impact on your life. The following management techniques can be rather effective in turning a potentially negative and emotionally charged sound (tinnitus) into a neutral presence.
Sound therapy can provide relief from ringing in the ears
Although sound therapy cannot eliminate tinnitus, it can be a helpful tool for managing the symptoms. With sound therapy, you listen to different, carefully selected sounds, which can help you feel that your tinnitus is reduced or temporarily gone.
It then becomes easier to hold your attention away from your tinnitus. Plus, it helps you focus on something more pleasant. You can find the sound therapy that gives you the most effective relief from ringing in the ears by working together with your hearing care professional.
Sound therapy can be provided through:
Hearing aids not only help with hearing loss, they simultaneously mask the sound of tinnitus by amplifying the sounds around you. This can result in reduced listening effort, a perceived reduction in tinnitus volume, and an improved ability to communicate with ease.
In addition, most of our hearing aids offer sound therapy sounds that are customized to your individual needs and preferences.
Learn more about our hearing aids:
Tinnitus and hearing loss – do you have both?
Research shows that most people with tinnitus have some degree of hearing loss without being aware of it, and many of them can benefit from hearing aids.
80% of people with tinnitus also have hearing loss
Hearing aids can help transmit more sounds into the ear and brain, thereby making the symptoms of tinnitus less bothersome. Moreover, improved hearing helps you to focus on sounds other than tinnitus, and for many people, this improvement is enough to experience relief.
Some tinnitus sufferers become sensitive to places with constant talking or loud music, so they begin to avoid such social situations altogether. To others, it is so disturbing that a full night’s sleep can become difficult to achieve. Tinnitus, if left untreated, can lead to the following consequences:
Some people are able to ignore their tinnitus most of the time, but leaving it untreated can have a negative impact on your life if it is experienced over extended periods of time.
1. Al-Swiahb, J., & Park, S. N. (2016). Characterization of tinnitus in different age groups: A retrospective review. Noise & health, 18(83), 214–219. https://doi.org/10.4103/1463-1741.189240
2. Beck D.L. (2012) British Academy of Audiology. Podium presentation.
