People with tinnitus should avoid silence—sound-rich environments distract the brain

This podcast from an audiologist discusses common questions about tinnitus. It notes that tinnitus could be described as a phantom sound associated with hyperactivity in the brain. It's linked with loud sound exposures above 85 decibels, hearing loss associated with aging and stress, among other factors.

Tinnitus estimates vary, but may occur in 10%-15% of the population

This video discusses the mechanisms underlying tinnitus and explores the knowns and unknowns about the condition. Tinnitus most commonly occurs among those with hearing loss, suggesting that cochlear damage may be a factor.

If hearing is damaged, the brain may amplify remaining sounds, perhaps causing tinnitus.

Watch how your nervous system's efforts to process silence can contribute to tinnitus

Cochlear cells can be damaged in numerous ways, including aging or exposure to loud noise. If enough cells die, the auditory system can become less sensitive, prompting the brain to compensate by amplifying sound, which is likely to contribute to tinnitus.

Tinnitus is derived from the Latin verb tinnire, meaning to ring

Read the entry in The Physical Dictionary by Stephen Blankaart, from 1693, where the word first appeared in English.

Pulsatile tinnitus is when you hear thumping synchronized with your heartbeat

This rare type of tinnitus, which sounds like rhythmic thumping or whooshing, is often linked to blood vessel conditions or high blood pressure. Lowering blood pressure through exercise and food choices can help reduce the severity of this condition.

A novel tinnitus therapy, called Lenire, involves mild electric tongue shocks and sound exposures.

There's no cure for tinnitus, but sometimes it goes away on its own

Though there's no cure, treatments and management approaches can significantly reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. Hearing aids, sound generators, and other steps can help some people with this condition. But sometimes tinnitus resolves within hours or days for reasons that remain unclear.

Notch music therapy may filter out some tinnitus frequencies

Researchers in Germany have developed a smartphone app-based therapy for individuals with tinnitus associated with hearing loss. Some people with tinnitus can use this Notch app with their hearing aids to at least partially block sound frequencies matching their tinnitus pitch—turning down the volume of their tinnitus.

Read Charles Darwin's description of his tinnitus suffering

When he was 57 years old, Darwin wrote to a new doctor about his suffering from a variety of maladies, including "singing of ears", vomiting, recurring flatulence, vomiting, and more. He noted how he believed his stress contributed to these symptoms.

Tinnitus is the most common compensated claim for US veterans

Since 2003, tinnitus has been the top-ranked compensated claim among US veterans. In 2024 alone, there were more than 3.2 million awards for tinnitus. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

One decibel of hearing loss increases tinnitus risk by 6% for older people

That's according to an analysis of more than 18,000 people published in BMC Medicine in 2023. The tinnitus risk is not just limited to older people: The research also concluded that one decibel of hearing loss increases the risk of developing tinnitus among young adults by 3 percent.

Tinnitus is a rare side effect of COVID-19

The infection can affect inner ear cells, and a review of the literature across multiple studies concluded that hearing loss occurred in 3.1% of patients with the virus and tinnitus in 4.5%.

Certain medications can make tinnitus worse

Certain antidepressants, antimalarial medications, antibiotics, ibuprofen, and cancer drugs have been linked with the condition. At higher doses, particularly, it seems they can trigger or worsen tinnitus in some individuals.

Some men may be at elevated risk of inheriting tinnitus

A 2017 Swedish Twin Registry study suggests that bilateral tinnitus—when tinnitus occurs in both ears instead of just one—appears to be heritable, at least in men.

Beethoven's correspondence in 1801 documented his tinnitus suffering

Ludwig van Beethoven's hearing loss is one of the best-known cases of this condition among historical artists. He also suffered from tinnitus and wrote in 1801, "My ears are buzzing and ringing perpetually, day and night. I can with truth say that my life is very wretched…"

Ludwig van Beethoven suffered from tinnitus

Historical figures that reportedly had the condition include Charles Darwin and Beethoven. Both men wrote letters about the frustrations and pain they experienced from the condition. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Musicians are 57% more likely to have tinnitus compared to the general public

Musicians have four times the risk of developing hearing loss, and their risk of developing tinnitus is increased by more than half.

See this graphic describing what different decibel levels mean for hearing loss.

When common sounds become disturbing

Misophonia causes certain sounds to feel violating, triggering a "very visceral kind of experience" filled with extremely unpleasant emotions, including annoyance, anger, and disgust. A 2017 study found that people with misophonia have elevated activity in the brain's anterior insula—a region associated with interoception, emotional processing, and behavioral responses—when exposed to trigger sounds. Ongoing research suggests trigger sound context affects the severity and manifestation of the condition.

Why you may hate the sound of your voice

It's a relatively common experience to cringe while listening to a recording of your own voice. This Popular Science article offers physiological explanations for the discrepancy between what we hear when we speak versus what others hear. The piece also expands on the psychology behind this discontent, and how our voices influence our self-perception and social interactions.

Misophonia is a neurological disorder where sounds trigger strong emotions

The phenomenon is characterized by decreased tolerance to specific sounds, such as heavy breathing, pen clicking, and water dripping, which trigger a fight-or-flight response. The resulting emotions, which can range from irritation and disgust to anxiety and fear, can be overwhelming and uncontrollable.

Listen to audio recordings of forests from around the world, featuring birds chirping, water flowing, and wind flowing through the trees.

Examining self-diagnosed synesthesia

A growing number of people on social media claim to have a perceptual condition that lets them smell colors, see music, or taste sounds. But do they really?

We hear because soundwaves are converted into electrochemical signals in our ears

This science teacher video systematically walks through the biology of the outer, middle, and inner ear. The explanation starts with the auricle, an external part that funnels sound through the auditory canal, and the tympanic membrane (the ear drum), which vibrates when sounds hit it. Beyond that, as the video details, is the eustachian tube, which is connected to the back of our throats and allows air to pass in and out to equalize ear pressure.

Tornadoes produce inaudible signals to humans hours before forming

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have found that tornado-producing storms generate specific sounds below the range of human hearing, much like the infrasonic signals produced by earthquakes and avalanches. Although difficult to distinguish from wind noise, scientists hope to build systems that use these signals to improve tornado forecasting.

Ancient Egyptian papyrus from 16th century BCE seems to reference tinnitus

Ancient Egyptians wrote that they treated "bewitched ear" with herbal concoctions that involved frankincense and other ingredients, which were placed in the ear.

Explore the biology of pain and why the experience of pain may differ widely from one person to another.

An ear doctor with hearing loss seeks to help those with hearing loss enjoy music

Alex Chern, an ear doctor who has hearing loss himself, dreams of restoring the ability to experience "all the richness and the beauty of the sound of music" for patients—not just functional hearing. Hearing aids amplify sound waves and aren't designed to work well with music that may have varied pitch and volume. Chern is studying how hearing loss and engaging with music may affect cognitive decline.

Audio and visual cues from "Titanic," Pink Floyd, and more can provoke goose bumps

These audio and visual snippets have been used in research studies to elicit goose bumps.

Listen to samples of 'sounds' produced in the sun's interior, created from the sonification of internal vibrations detected by the Parker Solar Probe.

Some sounds that have been shown to affect mood and noise have been given color names, such as brown, pink, and green noise, corresponding their frequencies to those of light.

A cochlear implant stimulates parts of the cochlea directly, with limited pitch and timbre capabilities

People with these devices have to learn or relearn how to train their brains to interpret nerve signals as sound. The range of the type of sounds that the brain can distinguish with a cochlear implant is limited and consequently it's difficult to understand a tonal language or distinguish individual speakers in a crowd.

Age-related hearing loss, known as presbycusis, is a top cause of hearing loss

This video walks through the biology of why presbycusis (prez-buh-kyoo-sis) occurs and its etiology. This type of hearing loss is gradual and typically starts with reductions in the ability to hear high-pitched sounds.

See what loud noises do to inner ear hair cells

This animation illustrates how louder music can affect inner ear hair cells. Damage to these cells is generally considered permanent. Hearing protection like ear plugs can reduce the level of sound entering into the ear and help protect those cells.

Pediatricians look for a list of behaviors to signal typical hearing development

These markers of typical hearing development among infants and toddlers include turning head to sound sources within the first five months of life, babbling by about 11 months, and trying to imitate simple words by 17 months of age.

Wearing a 'schizophrenia simulator,' designed to build empathy for patients, CNN's Anderson Cooper finds he struggles to function

Donning headphones that play a track mimicking the auditory hallucinations common in schizophrenia, Cooper finds he is very distracted, disconcerted, and frustrated. The auditory track aims to help listeners build empathy with patient populations by understanding the challenges they face in daily life.

Listen to the 'sounds' of the universe with this sonification library, where astronomers have transformed certain astronomical data sets into audio for broader engagement.

Individuals with synesthesia experience involuntarily overlapping sensations

Tasting words or seeing colors in music results from the brain retaining extrasensory connections from infancy. While most lose these neural pathways during development, about 4% of people are synesthetes, maintaining them without realizing it's unusual.