A question I’ve heard many times from those who I have been able to assists with overcoming their tinnitus, is “What are the causes of tinnitus without hearing loss?” It’s a question I also asked myself in the early stages of my own battle with tinnitus.

Those who have acquired tinnitus without any significant trigger event or without any noticeable lifestyle changes, might be left scratching their heads and asking, Why do I have this noise in my ear or ears but do not seem to be suffering from noticeable hearing loss?
Well, the long and short of this question is both yes; you can have tinnitus without any noticeable hearing loss. And no, you cannot have tinnitus without some kind of hearing sensitivity loss. What do we mean by this? Well, let’s break it down.

First of all you can have temporary tinnitus, which can of course be accompanied by no (recognizable) hearing loss once the tinnitus has subsided. You may also be afflicted with permanent tinnitus and similarly not register any (significant) hearing loss. However a loss of hearing sensitivity might be present, but it might just be so inaudible that you cannot register it. And even if it were detected in a hearing test, you still wouldn’t be able to truly perceive the minimal loss of hearing in your day-to-day life.
As a rule where there is always an interference to ones hearing capacity when tinnitus is present. And this usually presents its self to be at around the same tone, pitch and volume of the tinnitus perceived by the sufferer. For example the frequency at which you are hearing the high-pitched noise in ears is usually the same frequency where you will have lost some sensitivity to the external world of hearing.

So, why is this? Well, first lets break down exactly what tinnitus is, I’ve written a comprehensive article on the causes of tinnitus, which you might find helpful and interesting.

As for Causes of tinnitus in left ear and causes of tinnitus in right ear this is usually down to chance, tinnitus does not discriminate. If damage occurred on the left side, then tinnitus could occur on the left, likewise for the right. But regardless of the causes of tinnitus in left ear or the causes of tinnitus in right ear or if you have tinnitus in both ears the same rule applies you will have some kind of hearing interference and generally it will occur in the frequency of the pitch of your tinnitus.

Essentially tinnitus isn’t a stand-alone aliment or condition; it is a symptom, usually a result of inner ear damage, inflammation or obstruction. You can read about the myriad of reasons as to why someone might think they are suffering from tinnitus without noticeable hearing loss Ringing in the ears
So although you might be thinking that you have tinnitus but no real hearing loss, the truth of the matter is, you will have some kind of hearing impairment, only it is so insignificant you just cannot notice it. Hearing loss affects different people in different ways; to a degree it is a subjective affliction. Meaning its affect and impairment, troubles the patient to varying degrees depending on the individuals own level of sensitivity.

Have you ever heard the saying “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to witness it, did the tree actually fall?” Well, when I say hearing loss is subjective, what I am meaning is, if your hearing loss is so insignificant that it doesn’t interfere with your daily life, it might as well not be there right?

So, if this is the case, can we not look at tinnitus as purely a subjective condition? One in which we can essentially “learn” to so called “tune out” of our lives?

We now know that trying to figure out the Causes of tinnitus without hearing loss are is redundant and irrelevant exercise as we know there will be some kind of sensitivity loss (perceivable or not)
In reality we should be focusing on how to override the tinnitus weather it be a buzzing, ringing, whooshing or other.

When I say hearing loss and tinnitus is a subjective condition, I’m not trying to deny its existence, as a former sufferer of both; I know its existence is very real.
But there comes a time in every long term, permanent tinnitus sufferer’s life when we have to accept facts and stop looking for answers.

So, what if you could get to a place where your tinnitus or high-pitched noise in ears didn’t even register with you anymore? Just like your level of hearing sensitivity loss doesn’t register with you anymore. The difference between you and someone who’s tinnitus or hearing loss doesn’t even register with them might simply be a case of sensitivity, nervous system wiring, hypersensitivity, read my article on “Is your tinnitus down to your hypersensitivity”

In closing, if you’ve had tinnitus for a significant amount of time and you’ve passed through all the appropriate medical circles and nothing has pointed to why you have a high pitched noise in ears or it’s simply down to inner ear damage, wear or tear, maybe it’s time to stop looking for the causes of your tinnitus and focus on some simple facts, you have tinnitus, it’s not going away and there is no quick fix miracle cure.
So, maybe its time to find out what those who have tinnitus, but do not even register its daily presence have, that what you do not have. We can then begin the process of training the brain and nervous system to override, tune out the ringing in the ears and start to enjoy our lives tinnitus free!