Tinnitus is when someone hears sound that is not coming from their environment. Tinnitus can sound like many different things: clicking, hissing, ringing, whooshing or other sounds. 

About 15% of people in the United States have tinnitus. Tinnitus is also the most common disability for veterans. Most people who have tinnitus also have hearing loss. 

Each person’s experience is different. For some people tinnitus is just annoying or irritating. For others it can be disruptive. Each person will need to try different solutions to find what helps them. 

If you have tinnitus, there are things you can do to manage it and reduce the impact it has on your life. For example: 

• Make exercise, getting enough sleep and good nutrition key parts of your lifestyle. 
• Get your hearing tested. If you have a hearing loss, hearing aids may make your tinnitus less noticeable! Talk with your audiologist or try an over-the-counter hearing aid. 
• Reduce exposure to loud noise. Use good quality ear plugs whenever you are around loud noise. 
• Talk with your doctor or audiologist about treatments and therapies that can help you. 

For more information and resources for tinnitus, please visit our /deaf-hard-of-hearing/hearing-loss/tinnitus/index.jspTinnitus webpage or contact us!