Often this ringing sound will fade and we don't suffer from any adverse affects, but for over 60 million people worldwide it is something that they have live with 24 hours a day every day of there lives.

Forms of Tinnitus

* The most common form is a roaring, hissing or generally high pitched ringing or whistling sound.

* A clicking or heartbeat type of noise.

* The most common form of tinnitus is called subjective tinnitus where the sufferer hears a sound that others cannot.

* A far rarer type of tinnitus is objective tinnitus where sometimes your Doctor can hear the sound when they listen closely for it.

What Causes Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is not actually a disease but rather a sign that something else is happening with your body in either your hearing or your brain. Usually the most common occurrence of tinnitus is the onset of hearing loss either through age, trauma to the ear or the ear becoming damaged in some way.

A popular theory for the onset of tinnitus is that because the cochlea has become damaged it no longer sends the proper signal to the brain and because of this there is confusion within the brain and it makes up with its own noise for the lack of normal sound.

This then presents itself the person as the sounds heard in tinnitus. Tinnitus is often made worse by anything that affects our eras such as the build up of ear wax or an ear infection.

If trauma was behind the resulting Tinnitus then the sound will normally be heard in both ears. Other causes can be the over use of Aspirin and certain antibiotics. Ménière's disease can also have symptoms of tinnitus and also tinnitus has been linked to a certain type of tumour.

Testing For Tinnitus

Your Doctor will want to give you a complete physical examination and will take a full detailed history of any illnesses you have had, he will perform an audiogram hearing test depending on the type of tinnitus he may also want an MRI scan performed. In very rare cases a spinal fluid tap may also be performed this will measure the amount of fluid pressure in the spine or skull.

Treatment for Tinnitus

The treatment given will depend entirely on the underlying cause of tinnitus, if most cases it has been caused by damage to the ear and there is no treatment needed other than to give the reassurance that it is not a symptom of a more serious illness.

It is only in rare cases when the tinnitus is severe enough to cause major problems that a number of options for treatment become available. Some of the most useful treatments include the use of antidepressants and relaxation techniques.

For the majority of people suffering form tinnitus it will just be a case of living with it and ignoring it, eventually it is thought that over time the sufferer will get so used to the noise that isn't an issue anymore and they are able to live with it comfortably.