Tinnitus

The term Tinnitus comes from a Latin word “tinnere” which means ringing, it is also used to describe sounds that are buzzing, roaring, pulsatile or clicking in nature. It can be defined as the perception of sound or noise without any external stimulation. It may be subjective or objective in nature. The patient alone perceives the sound in subjective tinnitus while in objective tinnitus, it can be perceived by the other listener. Tinnitus may be unilateral or bilateral. Tinnitus is generated within the body from sound sources external to the auditory sensory pathways in objective tinnitus while it is a cognitive phenomenon not audible to an external listener in subjective tinnitus. It is “the false perception of sound in the absence of an acoustic stimulus”. Abnormal signaling that is generated within the auditory pathways (auditory cortex, and the emotional limbic systems) and the central nervous system are thought to be responsible Adegbenro CA, Amusa YB, Ijadunola IKT, Adeyemo A (2013) Prevalence of Tinnitus among Nigerians. J Community Med Health Educ 3: 200

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Last date updated on April, 2024