Here is a brief look at some of the most common symptoms of tinnitus. How many of these can you identify with? I’m sure you could add even more to this list!

Lack of concentration,
Depressed feeling or low moods,
Lack of patience/ irritability,
Headaches,
Anxiety,
Stress and nervous tension,
Nervousness
Panic attacks,
Loss of self confidence,
Insomnia,
Exhaustion,
Fatigue,
Low self esteem

Apart from the hearing loss accompanying Tinnitus which is one of the main physical symptoms, a lot of the symptoms listed here are more psychological in nature.

There are three important things to remember here.

• Tinnitus is a symptom rather than a disease
• You are not necessarily ill and you are certainly not mentally unwell. Your body is trying to tell you that something is not right.
• You will overcome your Tinnitus if you accept it and come to terms with it.

As soon as you are ready to accept that the tinnitus is a (hopefully temporary) part of you, the sooner you can expect to make progress in beating this condition.

Suffering hearing loss can be frustrating as it affects our ability to communicate. This can cause stress, which can aggravate the symptoms of tinnitus.

A normal hearing aid may relieve the symptoms of tinnitus, as the sufferer will be able to hear more external and back ground noises, which will cause the tinnitus sounds to lose their prominence.

However, other sufferers find no improvement to their tinnitus in using a hearing aid alone, and some report that these can even amplify the tinnitus sounds. There is now a device available which combines a hearing aid and tinnitus masker together in a single unit. It is called a Tinnitus Instrument, and is worn like a standard hearing aid. It contains separate volume controls for hearing and tinnitus masking; the correct volume for hearing should always be set before the masking element is adjusted, as if the masking sound is too high hearing could be damaged further.

If you think that you are experiencing hearing loss, consult your doctor who will arrange for hearing tests to be carried out and appropriate treatment advised.