Patient Basics: Tinnitus (Ringing in the Ears)

Tinnitus means hearing a sound, such as ringing, buzzing, hissing or humming, when there is no sound around you. About 1 in 10 US adults has had it in the past year. It is usually a sign of hearing loss or noise damage rather than a disease of its own. There is often no cure, but hearing aids, sound therapy and counseling can make it much less bothersome.

Key points

• Age-related hearing loss and loud noise are the most common causes.
• Earwax, ear infections, some medicines and Ménière’s disease can also cause it.
• A hearing test is the main step in finding the cause.
• Tinnitus in only one ear, tinnitus that pulses with your heartbeat, or sudden hearing loss needs a prompt check.
• Many people notice tinnitus less over time as the brain learns to tune it out.

What causes tinnitus

Tiny hair cells in the inner ear turn sound into nerve signals. When those cells are damaged, the brain gets less sound from the ear and seems to turn up its own volume. That extra activity is heard as tinnitus. Common causes include:

• Hearing loss with age. Tinnitus often comes with gradual hearing loss after 60.
• Loud noise. Concerts, power tools, firearms, loud workplaces and headphones at high volume. Ringing after a single loud event often fades in a day or two. Repeated exposure can make it permanent.
• Earwax blockage or fluid behind the eardrum from an ear infection.
• Medicines. High doses of aspirin, some antibiotics, some chemotherapy drugs, some water pills and quinine can cause or worsen it.
• Ménière’s disease. An inner ear disorder that causes attacks of spinning dizziness (vertigo), a full feeling in the ear and changing hearing.
• Jaw and neck problems, such as TMJ disorders, or a head or neck injury.
• A noncancerous growth on the hearing nerve (acoustic neuroma). This is rare and usually causes tinnitus and hearing loss in one ear.

Stress, poor sleep and anxiety can make tinnitus seem louder.

Pulsatile tinnitus

Some people hear a whooshing or thumping in time with their heartbeat. This is called pulsatile tinnitus. It can come from high blood pressure, narrowed or unusual blood vessels near the ear, raised pressure around the brain, or anemia. It should always be checked by a doctor.

How tinnitus is diagnosed

• Questions and exam. Your doctor will ask what the sound is like, when it started, whether it’s in one ear or both, and about noise exposure and medicines. They’ll look in your ears and check for wax or infection.
• Hearing test (audiogram). An audiologist checks how well you hear different pitches. Many people with tinnitus find they have hearing loss they hadn’t noticed.
• Imaging. An MRI may be ordered if tinnitus is in one ear only or comes with uneven hearing loss. Scans of the blood vessels may be needed for pulsatile tinnitus.

An ear, nose and throat doctor (ENT) or audiologist often leads this testing.

Treatment and ways to manage tinnitus

• Treat the cause. Removing earwax, treating an infection or switching a medicine sometimes stops tinnitus.
• Hearing aids. If you have hearing loss, hearing aids bring back outside sound and often make tinnitus less noticeable. Over-the-counter hearing aids are available for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss.
• Sound therapy. Soft background sound, such as a fan, white noise, nature sounds or a small sound generator, makes tinnitus harder to notice, especially at bedtime. Some hearing aids have a built-in sound generator.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This type of talk therapy has the strongest evidence for helping. It doesn’t remove the sound, but it changes how much it bothers you and helps with sleep.
• Tinnitus retraining therapy. Combines counseling with sound therapy to help the brain treat tinnitus as unimportant background noise.
• Newer devices. The FDA has cleared a device that pairs sounds with gentle stimulation of the tongue. It helps some people, and research is ongoing.
• Care for sleep and mood. Treating insomnia, anxiety or depression often makes tinnitus easier to live with.

No pill has been proven to cure tinnitus. Supplements such as ginkgo, zinc and vitamins haven’t been shown to help in good studies.

Living with tinnitus

• Protect your ears with earplugs or earmuffs around loud noise.
• Keep headphone volume low, and take breaks.
• Avoid silence, which makes tinnitus stand out. Play soft sound in quiet rooms.
• Keep a regular sleep schedule and use relaxing sound at bedtime.
• Exercise and stress-relief practices such as slow breathing can lower its impact.
• Notice whether caffeine, alcohol or salt make yours worse. Effects differ from person to person.

If tinnitus is wearing down your mood or you have thoughts of harming yourself, talk to your doctor. In a crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

When to see a doctor

• Tinnitus lasts more than a week or two, or keeps coming back
• It is only in one ear
• It pulses in time with your heartbeat
• It comes with hearing loss, dizziness or a full feeling in the ear
• It started after a head injury or a new medicine
• It is affecting your sleep, work or mood

Get care within a day or two for sudden hearing loss in one ear, with or without tinnitus. Early treatment with steroids may help hearing recover. Call 911 if tinnitus or hearing loss comes with facial drooping, weakness, trouble speaking or a sudden severe headache.

Common questions about tinnitus

Can you cure tinnitus in 2 minutes?

No. There is no quick cure. Some people find that tapping their fingers on the back of the skull, with their palms over their ears, quiets the sound for a few seconds or minutes. It is harmless to try, but it doesn’t fix the cause, and the sound returns.

Will tinnitus go away on its own?

Often, yes, when it follows a loud event or comes from earwax or a cold. Ringing after a concert usually fades within hours to days. Tinnitus from long-term hearing loss tends to stay, but most people notice it less over months as the brain learns to tune it out.

Is tinnitus a sign of something serious?

Usually not. Most tinnitus comes from hearing loss or noise damage. Tinnitus in one ear, pulsing tinnitus, or tinnitus with sudden hearing loss or dizziness can point to a problem that needs testing, such as a blood vessel issue or a growth on the hearing nerve.

Questions to ask your doctor

• What do you think is causing my tinnitus?
• Do I have hearing loss, and would hearing aids help?
• Could any of my medicines be involved?
• Do I need an MRI or other tests?
• Can you refer me for sound therapy or CBT?

Learn more

• Tinnitus (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders)
• Tinnitus (MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine)

This guide is general information and doesn’t replace advice from your own doctor. Last updated October 2026.