Tinnitus is the name for any sound that originates in the head. Most people with tinnitus experience a ringing in the ears, but it can also be a rushing, hissing, roaring, or even a swishing sound.

Most people will periodically get a ringing in their ears that quickly disappears. This is completely normal and the cause of it is unknown. Exposure to loud noise, such as shooting guns or going to a concert can cause ringing. This is an indicator that the ears have been injured slightly and that ear plugs should be worn when participating in that type of activity.

Constant ringing in the ears is often an indicator of hearing loss, although some people have it without any significant hearing loss. Usually the ringing originates in the nervous system or the brain. There is not anything physically wrong. The person is just hearing the nervous system working. Often, when a person has a hearing loss, it is as if the brain is trying to hear the sounds that used to be coming in but are no longer there and so it picks up the random nerve firings that happen in the brain all of the time but are usually ignored.

While many people with tinnitus just accept it as part of living others are very distracted or bothered by it. Generally the difference between people is how they respond emotionally to the ringing. If the person spends a lot of time focusing on the sound and worrying about it, it becomes a significant irritant in their life, sometimes to the point of not being able to function and perform daily activities.

Although there are no known cures for tinnitus there are things that can be done to lessen its effects:

• First, relax. The worst thing a person can do about their tinnitus is worry about it. The more you focus on it the louder it will be perceived to be.

• Second don’t be in completely quiet places. If the ringing disturbs you at night or if you are trying to read, turn on a fan or some other device that makes noise. If the tinnitus is not the only sound present the brain can more easily let it fade into the background and not pay attention to it.

• Third, focus on something else. By doing this you allow the brain to put the ringing in the “not important background noise category” and so the brain doesn’t pay attention to it.

• Fourth, many people with a significant hearing loss and ringing find that the ringing is much less or disappears when they wear their hearing aids.

If you have any questions about tinnitus or your hearing call an audiologist.

David Ward is a doctor of audiology with practices in Moab and Monticello.