Most people will experience tinnitus (a ringing in the ears) at some time in their life like after a rock concert or after hearing a loud noise like a gunshot, car backfire, door slamming shut really loudly etc

There are many different levels of tinnitus that have different effects on the people who hear them. Tinnitus is the term used for noises that sufferers will hear in the ears or inside their head. These noises can be ringing, hissing, buzzing, rasping and many other variations and combinations of these sounds.

As mentioned most people will experience tinnitus at some point in their lifetimes but for most people this will only be for a short period of time as described above. Others are not so lucky and their Tinnitus is permanent often called Prolonged Tinnitus. This type of tinnitus can be mild in some people and extremely severe in others.

Tinnitus Masking Software and Tinnitus Relief

Statistics indicate that tens of millions of people experience different levels of tinnitus each year. Some approximate estimates are as follows:

- About 10% of all adults (600 million people) have experienced tinnitus for longer than 10 minutes and this doesn’t include those who have had tinnitus for a short time after hearing a loud noise.

- Approximately 5% of all adults (300 million people) have tinnitus that affects them severely or that they find moderately annoying.

- About 5% of all adults (300 million people) have tinnitus which makes it difficult for them to sleep at night.

- About 1% of all adults (60,000,000 people) have tinnitus which has a severe effect on their daily quality of life.

- About 0.5% of all adults (30,000,000 people) have tinnitus that has a severe effect on their ability to lead a normal life.

- Approximately 8% of all adults in developed nations have needed to consult a specialist or doctor about tinnitus ringing in their ears.

Tinnitus Terms and Further Information.

The actual word tinnitus comes from the latin phrase meaning ‘tinnire’ translated means ‘to ring’ or to tinkle or to ring like a bell.” In the English language this is translated in the Oxford English Dictionary to mean ‘a ringing in the ears’.

The word Tinnitus can be pronounced two ways 1) ‘tin-it-us’ (most of a British pronunciation) or 2) ‘tin-night-us’ (More of a US pronounciation).

There are many famous people who have had tinnitus including the painter Vincent Van Gogh, the musicians Pete Townsend, Sting, Barbra Streisand and Steve Martin to name a few. Usually Tinnitus is associated with getting older but it can also affect children and people of all ages whether they suffer from hearing loss or not.

What is Tinnitus?

The Tinnitus experience is a subjective one meaning that the sufferer hears a sound when noone else can and these sounds are often described as “head noises” or “ringing in the ears”

What Causes Tinnitus?

Tinnitus has many different causes ranging in duration and severity and can be caused by exposure to loud sounds on the job ie such as for musicians, carpenters, military people or pilots or it can be caused by recreational activities such as fireworks (what happened to me when someone through a huge firecracker next to my head in India) shooting, chain saws, loud music. Other times there are reasons for Tinnitus which can include disorders of the neck or the temporomandibular joint (your jaw) and it can also be caused by allergies, cardiovascular diseases, degeneration of the bones in the inner ear. Tinnitus can also occur as a side effect of many prescribed drugs.

The Auditory System

It’s estimated that in the USA alone there are over 50 million American adults who have tinnitus to some varying degree and of that total number almost 20% of them have sought medical help to treat it or find some Tinnitus Relief.

Over the course of any year a Tinnitus patient with severe symptoms often spends more time and money looking for Tinnitus treatment than they spend on all their other health problems combined.

There are also a large number of people who have been told initially by doctors that there are no cures so “Simply deal with”(These are almost the EXACT words the first doctor who was a specialist told me 14 years ago and is actually WRONG!!!!!! as there are many treatments which can provide wonderful relief for the Tinnitus patient such as Sound Therapy, Tinnitus Masking - Which I highly recommend, Tinnitus Drug Therapy and a range of other treatments and relieving techniques) . Consequently many sufferers never seek Tinnitus relief or cure because they think nothing can be done to help them with the sounds in their ears - Click here to listen to the actual sounds of Tinnitus.

What Is It Like To Have Tinnitus?

Gnerally for the majority of humans tinnitus is not a big problem and they can deal with it easily or it simply goes away however in it’s most sever state tinnitus can be an extremely crippling condition which can cause sleeping issues, loss of concentration, trauma, anxiety and other psychologically distressing conditions.

Do Doctors Understand What Tinnitus Is?

In actual fact doctors and researchers are still working out exactly what the mechanism which causes tinnitus is however it is well known that it isn’t imaginary and that it is a very real symptom of problems in the auditory or neural system. There is however a great deal to be positive about nowadays as the current research indicates there may soon be a complete cure available for Tinnitus.

Is Tinnitus Associated With Hearing Loss?

Usually tinnitus causes some minor hearing loss in patients especially for those who have been exposed to very loud sounds and they often develop some high frequency hearing loss.