What is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus Symptoms

As a condition of the inner ear tinnitus usually take the form of unpleasant subjective sounds in the head and ears: more than 50 different sounds have been reported. Musical tinnitus is quite common in later years, though rare in young people.

As well as experiencing tinnitus in ear it can also be expressed by sensations of pressure, fullness, pain, or vibrations. as well as extra-sensitive hearing and hearing loss, temporary or permanent. It can sometimes be confusingly similar to jaw joint dysfunction (temporo-mandibular joint dysfunction - TMJ).

In another version of tinnitus - Meniere's syndrome - the balance centre becomes involved, leading to episodes of dizziness or vertigo.

But no matter what form it takes, tinnitus is almost always distressing. It can interfere with concentration by day and disturb sleep at night.

Tinnitus Causes

Tinnitus can be brought on by shock or stress of any kind, emotional or physical. It results from nervous system changes stimulated by the activation of the body's "emergency response" to the unconscious perception of threat. Some people are much more susceptible than others to developing tinnitus. (It's been theorized that tinnitus may actually be the sounds of the nervous system at work, so-called "stochastic sound", overhead by the conscious brain because of heightened arousal.)

The extreme sensitivity of the auditory system means that any anomaly, including hearing loss, is sometimes, but not always, accompanied by tinnitus. Because tinnitus can involve the emotional centres of the brain, it can be both a consequence and a cause of depression and anxiety.

Surveys have revealed that about 17% of people have or have had tinnitus, either occasionally or continuously. About 1/3 of those with persistent forms have mild to moderate...   (full text)

My thanks to Elizabeth Eayrs, Executive Director of the Tinnitus Association of Canada for this introduction (ed.)

Also helpful may be hearing problems.