Tinnitus
10th March 2008
What is Tinnitus?
People who suffer from tinnitus say that they can hear noises inside their ear or ears that can't be heard from outside the ear.
The sounds are described as high pitched ringing, buzzing, whooshing, clicking, tapping and even music sounds. The sounds can be constant or come and go.
The effects of tinnitus can be made worse by stress which can be emotional or physical.
What causes tinnitus?
Tinnitus is often linked to hearing loss, which is more common in elderly people who have age-related hearing loss. Most tinnitus is caused by a problem in the "inner ear", which converts sound into nerve signals and sends them to them the brain. Tinnitus can usually be heard when there is no external sound source.
Most people can hear a very soft form of tinnitus when in a very quiet place.
How can hearing aids help?
If you have impaired hearing, wearing a hearing aid can help relieve the symptoms by re-introducing the environmental sounds no longer heard due to the impairment, thus masking the problem sounds and helping the person to hear more clearly.
Further information
Contact: British Tinnitus Association
Free phone: 0800 018 0527
www.tinnitus.org.uk
