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Everyone Has Tinnitus

Image of neon words "and breathe" placed in foliage; tinnitus acceptance concept

More than 60 years ago, an experiment proved that nearly everyone has tinnitus.

In 1953 Heller and Bergman performed an simple and classic experiment. They placed 80 tinnitus-free individuals (university members) in a soundproof room for 5 minutes each, asking them to report on any sounds that might be heard. The subjects thought they might be undergoing a hearing test, but actually experienced 5 minutes of total silence.

A full 93% reported hearing buzzing, pulsing, whistling sounds in the head or ears identical to those reported by tinnitus sufferers.
 
This simple experiment shows almost anyone can detect background electrical activity present in every living nerve cell in the hearing pathways as a sound. Although some areas of the auditory system may be more active than others, every neuron will contribute to some extent to the final perception of tinnitus.
 
It's your reaction to the sound or sounds that is so distressing. If you are able to accept the sounds as non-threatening and just part of who you are, you will soon become so habituated to it that the noise will become barely audible to you. 

Resisting the noises of tinnitus obviously means you are focused on the sounds, including the levels and pitches of those sounds, the frequency and duration of them, and so on. However, since you can't get rid of sounds that are actually generated by your hearing system, you change what you can -- your reaction to them. 

 When you truly understand that your tinnitus will not go away and that it is not a condition that is life-threatening, you can learn to accept it and ultimately become indifferent to it. Certainly all the usual methods of control like using white noise or listening to a radio to focus your attention elsewhere can be helpful, but your ultimate goal is to learn to listen through the noise.


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