“Seven million people in the UK have experienced tinnitus at one time or another”, according to an estimate by The Royal National Institute of the Deaf (RNID).

It is has been suggested that between 10 – 15 per cent of all adults living in industrialised countries hear some form of intrusive noises within their ears, 90 per cent of which, is most likely to have been caused by short term exposure to excessive noise levels and could develop into permanent noise induced hearing loss.

While three million people were concerned enough about the likelihood of hearing damage that they visited their GP, there are countless numbers of others who may not be aware that they suffer from tinnitus or know what remedial action to take.

Around 8 per cent of adults have stated that their tinnitus is affecting their daily lives, while half around a million people, or nearly 1 per cent of individuals, say the symptoms are so pronounced that they are unable to lead a normal life.

Tinnitus is a condition in which sounds, most commonly whistling (39%), rustling (28%), humming (11%), hissing (6%) and ringing (4%) are experienced as sound heard inside the ears for which there are no actual incoming frequency signals caused by the external environment.

A prolonged incidence of tinnitus, known as ‘decompensated tinnitus’ can have a severe psychological effect causing hypersensitivity to sounds, difficulty in concentrating and anxiety, disturbed sleep and depression.Yet many people will not seek medical advice for between 5 to 10 years, mostly our of fear of social stigma attached to hearing loss.

The possible physical causes for tinnitus can vary from high blood pressure and blood vessel constriction, heart valve problems, anaemia and cholesterol to thyroid function, diabetes and middle ear infections/blockages or inner ear tumours. Hearing rhythmical noises that beat at the same rate as the heart is known as pulsatile tinnitus caused by either changes or an awareness of blood flow in the vessels near the ear.

However, in the majority of cases, it is a disruption in the function of the thousands of hair cells in the cochlea, which triggers perceived sounds and magnified by stress. Damage to the microscopic endings of the hearing nerve in the inner ears is mostly caused by exposure to excessive noise levels, expecially in the workplace and is the most well-known, common cause of tinnitus and permanent industrial deafness.