Tinnitus Facts
- Diagnosing and treating tinnitus it is not an exact science (except in obvious cases involving blows to the head or medication overdoses)
- Approximately one third of all U.S adult population experienced it at some point during their life (National Center for Health Statistic, 1968).
- Approximately 6% of all U.S adult population characterized their tinnitus symptoms as debilitating (National Center for Health Statistic, 1968).
- Approximately 13% of U.S. school children with normal hearing have reported occasional mild forms of tinnitus (Nodar, 1972)
- Approximately 50% of U.S. deaf children had tinnitus (Graham, 1980)
- The severity of tinnitus relates mainly to the psychological effect it has - induced sleep problems, stress, anxiety
- At this time, there is no (FDA approved) diagnostic test to confirm or infirm the presence of tinnitus and its severity
- One tinnitus type, with a vibratory origin can be heard by others, not only by the patient. Different names have been proposed to make the distinction between this and the non-vibratory type: vibratory/non-vibratory, objective/subjective, extrinsic/intrinsic, pseudo/true