Tinnitus Symptoms

General Tinnitus Symptoms

Tinnitus symptoms refer to the sounds that a sufferer hears in their ears or in their head. These can be sounds like; whistling, humming, roaring, rumbling, clicking, murmuring, hissing, ringing, droning, whooshing, knocking, buzzing, etc.

Tinnitus symptoms can be quite low level up to very severe and so can affect people differently. And, because of their condition, some sufferers can actually become more sensitive to everyday external noises around them too, e.g. television, hi-fi, radio, workplace noise, traffic, etc. These can be so elevated that they become painfully loud.

The symptoms of tinnitus are actually the signs of some underlying problem or issue. So tinnitus is not a disease nor an illness in itself, it is actually a symptom of some other problem that you may have. So, if you suffer from ringing in the ears, as tinnitus is often called, you should attend your doctor for a proper diagnosis.

Subjective and Objective Tinnitus

There are two kinds of tinnitus. Subjective is where the tinnitus symptoms (sounds) can be heard only by the person suffering from tinnitus, and is by far the most common form. Objective tinnitus is used to describe the condition where a doctor can also hear the sounds through the use of a special audio device.

Bilateral and Unilateral Tinnitus

And tinnitus symptoms can occur in both ears or just one. Bilateral tinnitus is the name given when the symptoms can be heard in both ears. Unilateral tinnitus is where the sounds are heard in one ear only, and is more common.

Pulsatile Tinnitus Symptoms

A particular form of tinnitus that affects a small minority of sufferers (around 3%) is called ‘pulsatile tinnitus.’ This is an ‘objective’ form of tinnitus and so the sounds can also be heard by a doctor as described above.

Pulsatile tinnitus symptoms are characterized by the sounds being heard in a pulsing / rhythmical way, usually beating in time with the heart / pulse. And this is because pulsatile ringing ears is usually the result of irregular blood flow through the blood vessels in the head and / or neck.

So there you have a brief description of tinnitus symptoms. Remember to visit your doctor for a proper diagnosis if you recognise any of these symptoms, as they can be a sign of some underlying issue that can then be attended to.