Tinnitus Sucks!

Myth: Tinnitus is all in the mind.
Fact: Although many people think that tinnitus is a psychological condition this is not the case. Tinnitus can be generated anywhere in the auditory system – in the ears, nerves of hearing or the auditory pathways in the brain.

Myth: Tinnitus only affects elderly people.
Fact: Tinnitus affects people of all ages, including children.

Myth: Tinnitus is a form of hearing loss.
Fact: Tinnitus is not a form of hearing loss: in fact people with completely normal hearing may experience tinnitus.

Myth: Tinnitus causes deafness.
Fact: Tinnitus does not cause hearing loss, the opposite is true and hearing loss can sometimes give rise to tinnitus.

Myth: Tinnitus worsens with time.
Fact: In the great majority of cases, tinnitus tends to improve rather than get worse over time.

Myth: There’s nothing that can be done to help.
Fact: While there is no absolute cure for tinnitus there is much that can be done to help people to manage it effectively.

Myth: Tinnitus is only heard as ringing.
Fact: People with tinnitus have reported hearing a huge range of noises such as whistling, buzzing, humming, revving engines and even music.

Myth: Tinnitus is only experienced in the ears.
Fact: Although some people describe hearing tinnitus in their ears other people describe it as being inside the head or even around the outside of the head.

Myth: Botox cures tinnitus.
Fact:  At this time only a very small scale study in the US has been done where Botox was injected around the ears. While the study showed some positive effects, further large scale studies need to be conducted before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.