THE EXPLAINER
TINNITUS
WHAT IS TINNITUS?
Tinnitus is often thought of as the ‘ringing in the ears’ that we might have temporarily after going to a loud concert.
However, as many as 1 in 25 people have tinnitus that affects them long-term, impacting their daily lives and often coming hand-in-hand with mental health conditions, such as depression. But it’s not always heard as a ringing, and those who have it may describe it as buzzing, humming or whooshing. For some people, the sound pulses in time with their heart beat – this is known as ‘pulsatile tinnitus’.
In general, tinnitus is a sound that comes from within; it doesn’t originate from an external source like the radio or washing machine. Most often, it’s a signal that the affected person perceives as a sound, but is generated in the brain. More rarely, it can be a ‘real’ and sometimes detectable sound coming from the body – like muscles or blood vessels – near to the ears. This is known as ‘somatosound’.