Did you know?
About 6 million people have tinnitus in the UK.
Most people with tinnitus have some degree of hearing loss
The prevalence of tinnitus increases with age.
Tinnitus assessment is £99 and FREE video otoscopy included
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus represents one of the most common and distressing otologic problems.
It is defined as a phantom auditory perception i.e. perception of sound without corresponding acoustic stimuli in the environment; perception of the sound occurs for the patient only.
Does tinnitus refer to a ringing sound only?
Tinnitus presents as ringing, hissing, humming, buzzing, roaring, crackling,
sizzling, whooshing, howling, and/or grinding.
What causes tinnitus?
There are usually two phases that produce tinnitus. One is the trigger that starts the tinnitus. This is usually some pathology or damage in the peripheral system that results in an imbalance in activity in the central nervous system. It triggers abnormal spontaneous neural activity and produces the tinnitus perception. The second phase is maintenance, which is the long-term central auditory process that keep the tinnitus going and makes it problematic over time.
What are triggers for tinnitus?
Peripheral triggers include cochlear damage; this can range from noise induced hearing loss, ear infections, presbycusis, ear surgery. Other triggers include is head and neck injury.
Central triggers occur in the higher centres of the body like brain injury, metabolic issues, neural disease, and stress.
What does a tinnitus assessment involve?
Full history and questionnaires will be used to determine the impact of tinnitus on your life. Diagnostic testing and tinnitus testing will be carried out. A detailed explanation of tinnitus and management options will be discussed.
