Tinnitus

For a lay person:

Tinnitus is hearing a sound — ringing, buzzing, hissing or whooshing — that has no outside source. It can be constant or come and go, in one ear or both. It is very common, especially with age or after loud-noise exposure, and is a symptom rather than a disease in itself.

For a trained medical person:

Subjective tinnitus is usually associated with sensorineural hearing loss (presbycusis, noise-induced), and also with otosclerosis, Ménière's disease, cerumen impaction, ototoxic drugs and temporomandibular disorders. Pulsatile or unilateral tinnitus warrants imaging to exclude vascular causes and vestibular schwannoma. Audiometry is the core assessment.

In Chinese medicine:

Classed as ear ringing (耳鳴). Sudden, loud, high-pitched tinnitus is usually read as excess — Liver and Gallbladder Fire, or Phlegm-Fire rising. Gradual, low, soft tinnitus that eases with pressing on the ear is read as deficiency, chiefly of Kidney Essence, sometimes Heart Blood.

When to get help: See a doctor promptly for tinnitus in one ear only, tinnitus that pulses with your heartbeat, or tinnitus with sudden hearing loss, dizziness or facial weakness.