Tinnitus is the sensation of a noise in the ear or head when no apparent source for the noise is evident. Tinnitus may be either subjective (perceived only by the patient) or objective (perceived by an examiner also). Virtually 95 to 98% of tinnitus is subjective, and 65 to 98% of tinnitus is idiopathic. Unfortunately, tinnitus is one of the most common disorders known. The American Tinnitus Association reports that over 20 million Americans have this distressing symptom.
Copyright © 1990, Butterworth Publishers, a division of Reed Publishing.