The purpose of this paper is to show how temporal bone histopathology has been instrumental in adding knowledge about the origin of tinnitus in the cochlea and how it will still be useful for that purpose in the future. The papers published on this subject will be reviewed, and their contributions will be highlighted. The knowledge that is now part of the subject will be pointed out, and future research on this area will be pointed out.
Keywords: Cochlea origin of tinnitus; Endolymphatic hydrops; Otosclerosis; Temporal bone histopathology; Tinnitus.