Possible connections between different forms of anaesthesia and the occurrence of tinnitus or increasing levels of tinnitus are described. After general anaesthesia no increase in the occurrence or level of tinnitus is to be expected, but there exists a very rare, but specific form of low frequency tinnitus combined with low frequency sensory hearing loss following spinal anaesthesia. Reversible tinnitus and hearing disorders following local anaesthesia normally occur in cases of central nervous system toxicity.