[1rae]

I have had Tinnitus for a long time and recently I have been seeing a specialist about it. One important point is that Tinnitus is a symptom and not a cause, so if you think Tinnitus is causing you to be depressed because it's a constant annoyance - most likely it is working the other way around and the depression is causing the Tinnitus.

If you do have this problem, then going to an Audiologist and not an ENT is really helpful, especially an Audiologist who specialised in this field.

I had it completely the other way round and realised my depression is causing my Tinnitus, they put me on anti-depressant medication and my life had been much better since. An ENT (Ear Nose and Throat specialist) will only be able to give you an MRI and let you know that nothing is physically wrong with you.

It's actually kind of similar to how a neural network functions, and the pathway that causes the ringing sound has a higher weight value than the other sounds you hear, so you hear it more... this causes your fight or flight response to kick in and you focus more on the sound as you think it's a threat, and the sound becomes louder - even though its only a phantom sound.

If you do have Tinnitus, maybe consider that stress or work or some other factor in your life is overwhelming you and seek help for it.

Tinnitus can also be caused by a Vitamin deficiency, such as Vitamin B12 and D, or sometimes tension in muscles in your jaw... very rarely is Tinnitus actually caused by being over exposed to load sounds.