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What Causes Tinnitus, and What Helps?

Tinnitus is often linked to hearing loss or noise exposure. There is no cure, but treating causes, hearing aids where needed and CBT can reduce its impact.

By Vireon Medical Editorial TeamFirst published Evidence checked through

Short answer

Tinnitus, hearing noises that do not come from outside, is commonly linked to hearing loss or noise exposure. It can also come from earwax, ear infections, some medicines, head or neck injury and, less often, blood vessel or other conditions. It is not usually a sign of anything serious and may improve on its own. There is no cure, but treating any cause, hearing aids when hearing loss is present and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can reduce how much it affects daily life; what helps depends on the cause and how distressing it is.

Key points

  • Surveys suggest 10% to 25% of adults have tinnitus.
  • Hearing loss and loud noise are commonly linked with tinnitus.
  • Tinnitus that pulses in time with your heartbeat needs an urgent GP appointment.
  • CBT may reduce the impact of tinnitus; no medicine is approved specifically to treat it.
  • Supplements marketed as tinnitus cures have not been shown to work.

What tinnitus is

Tinnitus is hearing sounds that do not come from an outside source. People describe ringing, buzzing, whooshing, humming, hissing, throbbing, or even music or singing. It may be in one ear, both ears or the head, and it may come and go or be constant.1

It is common: surveys estimate that 10% to 25% of adults have it, and children can have it too.2

What causes it

Tinnitus is a symptom rather than a disease, and the cause shapes what can be done. Recognised causes and associations include:12

  • Hearing loss, which is strongly associated with tinnitus, although not everyone with hearing loss develops it.
  • Loud noise at work, concerts or sporting events.
  • Earwax or fluid from an ear infection blocking the ear canal.
  • Medicines, including some anti-inflammatory painkillers, aspirin, some antibiotics and some chemotherapy drugs.
  • Head or neck injury.
  • Other conditions, such as Ménière’s disease (an inner-ear disorder with vertigo), diabetes, thyroid disorders, multiple sclerosis, jaw joint problems, blood vessel problems and, rarely, a vestibular schwannoma (a benign tumour on the hearing nerve).
  • Anxiety or depression, which can be linked with tinnitus.

For some people no cause is found.2 Pulsatile tinnitus, a sound that beats in time with the pulse, is different: it often has an identifiable cause, such as a blood vessel problem, and may need imaging.23

How it is assessed

A GP usually checks the ears for wax or infection and reviews medical history and medicines. An ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist may examine the head, neck and ears, and an audiologist measures hearing.2

Scans are not needed for everyone. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends offering imaging for pulsatile tinnitus, but not for tinnitus that affects both ears equally, is not pulsatile and has no other concerning features.3

What helps

ApproachWhat it involvesWhat the evidence says
Treating the causeFor example, removing earwax or treating an infection1Can remove or greatly reduce symptoms when a physical cause exists2
Hearing aidsAmplifying sound for people with hearing loss1NICE recommends them when hearing loss affects communication, but not for tinnitus without hearing loss3
CBTA talking therapy that changes how you respond to the tinnitus; digital CBT is usually offered first in the NHS1May reduce the impact of tinnitus by the end of treatment; low to moderate certainty4
Sound therapyBackground sound from generators, apps or combination devices2NICE could not make a recommendation for practice3
Tinnitus retraining therapySound-based therapy with counselling1Available on the NHS for severe or persistent cases; effectiveness unclear1
Main approaches to tinnitus and the strength of evidence behind them.

The best-studied treatment is CBT. A 2020 Cochrane review of 28 randomised trials with 2,733 adults found that CBT may reduce the negative impact of tinnitus at the end of treatment compared with no intervention, and probably does so slightly compared with standard audiological care. It did not find evidence about effects at 6 or 12 months, and serious side effects were rare.4 The evidence that CBT reduces tinnitus impact is Moderate at best, and longer-term effects are Insufficient.

CBT aims to reduce distress and disruption rather than silence the noise. The review’s summary does not report any effect on loudness.4

What is not supported by evidence

There is currently no cure for tinnitus, and the US Food and Drug Administration has not approved any medicine for it. Vitamins, herbal extracts and dietary supplements advertised as cures have not been proven to work.2 NICE advises against betahistine (a medicine used for vertigo) to treat tinnitus.3

Doctors may prescribe antidepressants or anti-anxiety medicines when mood or sleep are affected, but these treat those problems rather than the tinnitus itself.2 Brain stimulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation have given Mixed results.2

Self-help

NHS self-help advice includes relaxation such as deep breathing or yoga, a regular bedtime routine with less caffeine, avoiding loud noise and stress, using soft music or background sound instead of total silence, keeping busy with hobbies so the tinnitus is not the focus, and joining a support group.1

When to seek medical advice

Go to A&E or call 999, and do not drive yourself, if tinnitus starts after a head injury, or comes with sudden hearing loss, weakness of the face muscles or vertigo (a spinning sensation).1 Ask for an urgent GP appointment if the sound beats in time with your pulse.1

See a GP if tinnitus is regular or constant, getting worse, or affecting sleep, concentration or mood.1 If tinnitus is making you feel you might harm yourself, seek help immediately; NICE recommends immediate referral to a crisis mental health team in this situation.3

Common questions

Will tinnitus go away by itself?

It may; the NHS notes that tinnitus can get better on its own.1

Can a hearing aid help if I have no hearing loss?

No; NICE advises against amplification devices for people with tinnitus but no hearing loss.3 See our guide to hearing aids.

Could my tablets be causing it?

Possibly, as some painkillers, antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs can cause tinnitus; do not stop a prescribed medicine without speaking to the prescriber.12

Do I need a scan?

Usually not, unless the tinnitus is pulsatile or there are other concerning features.3

Bottom line

Tinnitus usually reflects a hearing-related cause rather than serious disease, but a few patterns need prompt care. When no fixable cause is found, the realistic aim is to make the noise less intrusive, with hearing aids where there is hearing loss and CBT having the best supporting evidence.

Sources

  1. NHS. Tinnitus. NHS website. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tinnitus/. Accessed 5 November 2026.
  2. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Tinnitus. NIDCD, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/tinnitus. Accessed 5 November 2026.
  3. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Tinnitus: assessment and management (NG155). Recommendations. NICE. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/NG155/chapter/recommendations. Accessed 5 November 2026.
  4. Fuller T, Cima R, Langguth B, Mazurek B, Vlaeyen JWS, Hoare DJ. Cognitive behavioural therapy for tinnitus. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; 2020: CD012614. https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD012614. Accessed 5 November 2026.

Article history

  • — First published.