Tinnitus & ringing in ears - what is tinnitus, how common is it, and how to help it?

Tinnitus and ringing in the ears

Understanding your tinnitus

If you have tinnitus, you are not alone. Between 10-15 percent of the population suffer from some degree of tinnitus, with more than half affected in both ears. 1 in 5 people in United States experience tinnitus and nearly 12 million people a year seek medical advice.

Watch the video and learn more about sound therapy and other treatment options for tinnitus.

Beltone Tinnitus Calmer app

Distract your brain from focusing on your tinnitus with the help of Beltone's Tinnitus Calmer app. Available on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Android devices, the app offers a combination of Sound Therapy and relaxing exercises which can help provide relief from tinnitus.

Tinnitus & ringing in ears: Tinnitus management app - Tinnitus Calmer app

What is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is the name for the perception of sounds, such as ringing in your ears, buzzing or hissing, when these sounds are not present in the environment. Although the tinnitus sounds can be perceived as quite loud, objective measurements show that they are often fainter than the sound of a leaf falling to the ground.

As you notice the tinnitus sound and start paying attention to it, a strong negative emotional response can be triggered.

A vicious cycle is created where you pay even more attention to the tinnitus, and your brain loses its ability to filter out the irrelevant noise before it reaches your consciousness.

Tinnitus & ringing in ears - what is tinnitus, how common is it, and how to help it?

How common is tinnitus?

Tinnitus is essentially heard by most people at some point in their lives, even those with normal hearing. There are many causes for tinnitus: it can be a by-product of loud noise exposure, such as a rock concert or a night out at a club, disappearing after a few hours or the morning after. It can also happen spontaneously without any reason, and then disappear as suddenly as it began. Many professionals believe this is just a function of the normal hearing system.