Tinnitus is perception of sound in absence of an external source. In itself tinnitus is not a disease rather a symptom. It is most likely common presentation of variety of disorders. As is the case with other symptoms such as “headache”, the underlying problem might be different. Tinnitus has been associated with noise induced trauma, other forms of hearing loss, head trauma, temporomandibular joint disease (TMD), and inflammation of neck joints and muscles (cervicogenic tinnitus). Some patients’ tinnitus responds to masking and any noise in the environment, other’s to medication.
It is a very common symptom and as many as 10% of the population are affected by it. Based on quality of the sound is divided in the following categories: