Tinnitus: where that sound in your ears comes from and what helps

General information, not medical advice. If you suddenly hear a sound in one ear or suddenly hear less well, talk to your GP straight away.

A whistling after a concert, a soft hum as you lie in bed at night: many people know it. With tinnitus, you hear a sound that does not come from outside. This article explains where tinnitus comes from, what you can do yourself and when it is better to see your GP.

What tinnitus actually is

Thuisarts, the patient website of the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG), describes tinnitus as constantly hearing 1 or more sounds in your head. The sound is in one or both ears or in the middle of your head. Nobody else can hear it.

It sounds different for everyone. Thuisarts mentions a rushing like wind or running water, whistling or beeping, buzzing or humming, ringing and throbbing. The British NHS adds hissing and even music or singing, among others. The sound can come and go or be there all the time. Sometimes you only notice it when you lie quietly in bed, because the sounds around you usually drown it out.

Where tinnitus comes from

Tinnitus is often linked to hearing less well. According to Thuisarts, hearing cells inside your ear are then damaged. These are nerve cells that pick up sound. Noise is a well-known cause: loud music, working around loud sounds or riding a motorbike without protecting your ears. Getting older, repeated ear infections or an accident that damages the skull can also play a part.

There are other causes too. Some medicines have tinnitus as a side effect. It usually goes away when you stop that medicine, but never stop on your own without talking to your doctor. With a cold or a blocked ear, the sound usually disappears by itself. Stress can make the sound seem louder. If you hear a rushing in time with your heartbeat, a narrowed blood vessel may be the cause.

How to be less bothered by tinnitus

Thuisarts is honest: there is usually no treatment that makes tinnitus go away and medicines do not reduce it. There are, however, ways to cope with it better. Thuisarts and the NHS give this advice:

• Distract yourself with work, a hobby or sport. According to the NHS, the more you focus on the sound, the more bothersome it becomes.
• Avoid total silence. Soft music, the ticking of a clock or an open window with sounds from outside make the noise less noticeable. Never play the music loud.
• Make time to relax and reduce stress, for example with yoga or calm breathing when you feel tense.
• Work on your sleep with a regular bedtime routine and less caffeine, as the NHS recommends.

Always protect your ears when there is a lot of noise around you, so the tinnitus does not get worse. How to do that in practice is explained in the article on protecting your hearing as you age. If you also hear less well, a hearing aid can help. You then hear the sounds around you better and notice the tinnitus less.

How it develops

Sometimes tinnitus goes away by itself, but often it stays. That sounds discouraging, but Thuisarts is reassuring: most people learn to live with it naturally. 9 out of 10 people with tinnitus are hardly bothered by it. Over time, the sound bothers you less and less.

Are you still very troubled by it, for example because you sleep badly, feel low or find it hard to concentrate? Then your GP can help. The NHS explains that in the UK, a GP may refer you for a form of talking therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy. It helps you think about the sound differently, so it makes you less anxious.

When to see your GP

Call your GP or the out-of-hours service straight away if tinnitus starts suddenly together with sudden deafness in one ear. Make an appointment if it bothers you a lot, if it started suddenly after a fall, accident or blow to the head, if you only hear it in one ear or if you also have ear pain, headache, dizziness or problems with your vision. The NHS also asks you to get an appointment quickly if the sound beats in time with your pulse.

Sources

• Thuisarts, Nederlands Huisartsen Genootschap (NHG). Ik heb last van oorsuizen. 2026 (last updated 20 July 2026), in Dutch.
• NHS (United Kingdom). Tinnitus. 2024 (page last reviewed 12 January 2024).