Tinnitus is ringing, buzzing or hissing with no outside source. At Electronic City Phase 1 and Phase 2, an audiologist tests your hearing, matches the sound, rules out causes that need a doctor, and builds a plan. No cure pill, but most people get real relief.
A sound your own hearing system makes. Common, usually not dangerous, and a symptom rather than a disease.
When the inner ear stops sending certain pitches, the brain turns up its own sensitivity to find them, and you hear that extra activity as sound.
On the chart at the top, red circles are the right ear and blue crosses the left. Lower marks mean a sound must be louder before you hear it. Both ears are close to normal up to 2,000 Hz, drop at 4,000 Hz and climb back at 8,000 Hz. That "V" around 4,000 Hz is the fingerprint of loud sound. Age-related loss looks different: it keeps sloping down at the highest pitches. Your own audiogram tells us which pattern you have and where your tinnitus is likely coming from.
Often more than one is at work. Finding them shapes the plan.
These need medical checks before any tinnitus therapy.
Sudden hearing loss in one ear (over hours or a day or two), tinnitus with spinning vertigo, nausea or a full ear, or tinnitus after a head injury or with weakness or numbness in the face. Treatment works best within days.
Tinnitus in one ear only with no clear reason, or a pulsing, whooshing sound that keeps time with your heartbeat. Dizzy too? Read vertigo and balance.
For everyday, two-sided tinnitus that built up slowly, an audiologist is a good place to start.
Understand your tinnitus, check nothing needs a doctor, and agree a plan you can start that week.
A list of your medicines and, if you have one, an old hearing test report. If the tinnitus keeps you awake, tell us. Sleep is one of the first things we try to fix.
No cure pill. What helps is changing how your brain responds, until the sound fades into the background.
Supplements sold for tinnitus have not been shown to work in good trials. Sound therapy is set just below the level of the ringing, not to drown it out.
If you have hearing loss, a hearing aid brings back the outside sounds your brain was straining for. Most brands we fit add a tinnitus sound programme, and many let you adjust it from a phone app. See hearing aids for how the trial works.
Tinnitus feels worse when it is linked to worry. Understanding what the sound is, and that it is not harmful, takes away much of that alarm. We use CBT-style techniques to break the cycle of noticing, worrying and noticing more.
Caffeine affects some people and not others, so watch your own pattern rather than cutting everything out.
Same team, same equipment, same hours at both. Pick whichever is closer.
Hulimangla Road, near Sai Mandir Temple, above RxDx Multi Speciality, Hulimangala, Bengaluru 560105
Mon–Sat, 9:30 am – 6:30 pm. Sunday closed.
Lift available. Home visits available.
Closest for Hulimangla, Neeladri Nagar, Doddathoguru, Konappana Agrahara.
Ananth Nagar, above Bata showroom, opp. Udupi Aaradhya restaurant, Bengaluru 560100
Mon–Sat, 9:30 am – 6:30 pm. Sunday closed.
Upstairs, reached by stairs. There is no lift. Home visits available.
Closest for Ananth Nagar, Hebbagodi, Bommasandra, Chandapura.
For most people there is no pill, drop or operation that switches tinnitus off. When it comes from something treatable, such as wax or a middle-ear problem, treating that can stop it. For the rest, sound therapy, hearing aids and counselling help most people notice it far less, and many reach a point where it no longer bothers them.
Often, yes, when tinnitus comes with some hearing loss. Bringing back the outside sounds you were missing gives the brain something else to listen to, so the ringing stands out less. Most brands we fit also have a built-in tinnitus sound programme that plays a soft, adjustable background sound.
See an ENT doctor the same day if you have sudden hearing loss in one ear, tinnitus with spinning vertigo, or tinnitus after a head injury. See one promptly, within days, if the tinnitus is only in one ear or beats in time with your pulse. These need medical checks before any tinnitus therapy.
Loud sound tires the hair cells in your inner ear, and the ringing is a sign they were pushed too hard. It usually fades within a day or two. If it keeps happening, or does not fade, get a hearing test, because repeated exposure can cause permanent damage.
Yes. Stress, poor sleep and worry do not usually cause tinnitus, but they make the brain pay more attention to it. That is why tinnitus often feels loudest at night or during a bad week, and why counselling and better sleep are part of managing it.
High doses of aspirin, some strong antibiotics, some cancer drugs, some water tablets and quinine can cause or worsen tinnitus. Do not stop a prescribed medicine on your own. Tell your doctor about the ringing and ask whether anything should change.
Poorvam Hearing runs tinnitus assessments at both our centres, Electronic City Phase 1 on Hulimangla Road and Phase 2 in Ananth Nagar, Monday to Saturday. Book online or call +91 88848 64343.
Start with a tinnitus assessment at Phase 1 or Phase 2. You leave with your audiogram and a plan.
