What You Should Know About Tinnitus

                                 What You Should Know About Tinnitus       (printer-friendly version)

  • Tinnitus is the perception of sound where no external source exists. Those who are affected describe tinnitus as a “ringing, hissing, buzzing or whooshing,” perceived in one or both ears.
     
  • 50 million people in the United States experience tinnitus (and millions more worldwide); of those, 16 million have sought medical attention for their tinnitus and 2-3 million are completely disabled from their tinnitus.
     
  • Tinnitus is most often the result of noise exposure; either from a single impulse (extreme) noise, or cumulative exposure to noise. Head and neck injury are the second leading known cause of tinnitus.
     
  • According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), tinnitus is the #1 service-connected disability for veterans from all periods of service accounting for over 840,000 indviduals. Tinnitus remains the leading service-connected disability for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans as well.
     
  • The cost to compensate veterans for tinnitus is approaching $2 billion annually.
     
  • In 2011, between all public and private funding in the U.S. combined, approximately $10 million was spent on tinnitus research.
     
  • A 2007 study of 900 musicians found that at least 60% report at least occasional tinnitus.
     
  • 30 million workers are at risk for tinnitus from noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) from hazardous noise on the job.
     
  • The Centers for Disease Control report that nearly 13% of children, ages 6-19 (5 million in the U.S.) already have some form of NIHL. This means they may also have tinnitus or they are at greater risk for developing tinnitus.
     
  • A recent Department of Defense study on Iraq service veterans indicated that 70% of those exposed to an explosive blast reported tinnitus within the first 72 hours after the incident; 43% of those seen one month after the incident continued to report tinnitus.
     
  • According to the National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health, 85 decibels for 8 hours is considered to be “safe,” meaning it is unlikely to do damage.

The American Tinnitus Association exists to cure tinnitus through the
development of resources that advance tinnitus research.
 

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