What is tinnitus?

AROUND one in three people experience tinnitus at some point – often a ringing, buzzing or whooshing sound in the ear, when there’s no external cause. However, about 13% of the population live with persistent tinnitus – and it can have a big impact. According to the British Tinnitus Association (BTA, tinnitus.org.uk), 9.3% of people living with tinnitus have experienced thoughts of suicide or self-harm in the last two years, with 87% saying they think about their tinnitus every day.

“We’ve noticed during Covid, more people telling us about their tinnitus,” says BTA’s communication manager Nic Wray. “The stress of the pandemic does seem to have exacerbated lots of people’s tinnitus.”

TINNITUS AND STRESS

Most of the time, tinnitus doesn’t have a clear cause. However, stress and anxiety can be big factors. Audiologist Farah

Kiani, of high street clinic Hidden Hearing (hiddenhearing.co.uk), agrees and like

Wray is keen to highlight that help is out there: “The main thing is for people to know they are not alone, and you can talk to somebody.”

If you have hearing loss, Kiani says “having a hearing aid can help reduce your awareness of tinnitus. That’s because hearing aids amplify sounds that you want to hear, and that distracts your brain from the tinnitus.” (Hearing tests are free on the NHS in Scotland, and are available at Hidden Hearing, Boots and Specsavers).

HOW CAN YOU HELP TINNITUS?

Wray says: “A lot of tinnitus management is around relaxation techniques. When we’re under lots of stress, our system is automatically more alert, it’s monitoring our senses more – and hearing is one of those. So, if we’re hyper-alert and stressed, our body is monitoring sound more closely and that includes the tinnitus.”

Kiani adds: “There are lots of techniques you can try. For example, deep breathing exercises, meditation, and even something like visualisation exercises.”

CBT FOR TINNITUS

Cognitive behaviour therapy, or CBT – a form of counselling weaving in coping strategies and helping people reframe things – is a recognised treatment option. Wray says it can provide a helpful “framework for understating how you’re feeling about the tinnitus, and how tinnitus and stress are linked”, while Kiani adds “tinnitus retraining therapy can be very helpful”.

For information you can call their helpline

(0800 018 0527). Visit tinnitus.org.uk