Tinnitus sounds can be a unique experience, however people commonly report buzzing, whistling, humming and ringing. It is not uncommon to hear more than one sound at a time and for tinnitus noises to change. For example, when people are stressed they may feel as though their tinnitus changes in pitch and volume and becomes more intrusive.

Click on one of the links below to hear what it can sound like.

Tinnitus simulations transcript

The tinnitus and body sound simulations you will hear come from a study conducted between 1975 and 1977 at the RNID medical research unit. The technique used in this research was to ask patients to listen to their tinnitus in a quiet room. Sounds were then presented to patients from an EMS music synthesiser theoretically capable of producing any sound, or combination of sounds. When the sound from the simulator presented through a loud speaker, was the same (or almost the same) as the patient's own tinnitus, the simulated sound was recorded on tape. These are a few of the 200 cases or so documented. This research was published in the Ciba Symposium Series no 85: Tinnitus; Hazell JWP, Measurement of tinnitus in humans pp 35-53.

The noises you are about to hear may sound like a pulsatile or beating sound, high-pitched rattles, electric buzzes, and high-pitched drill, interference on the radio or a mixture of all these noises.