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How can I prevent tinnitus?

Tinnitus can make you feel isolated and alone – other people can’t hear these sounds, or understand what it’s like to live with them day in and day out.

This can often lead to emotional stress such as frustration, fear and anger, as well as problems with sleep and general well-being. It can cause you to withdraw from social situations, and can even trigger depression1.

And since stress is a major contributing factor towards making tinnitus symptoms worse, sufferers can end up in a vicious circle. If you think you might be affected by tinnitus, you can take our self-evaluated online tinnitus test to see whether you might be suffering from this condition.

Enjoy music – responsibly

If you’re a fan of live music, and love nothing better than attending concerts and music gigs, then positioning yourself well away from loudspeakers will reduce the chances of damage to your eardrums and could help prevent tinnitus. 

Limiting your use of iPods and other personal music devices, as well as lowering the volume, will also help reduce the impact of loud, prolonged music that could lead to the development of tinnitus.

Image shows a woman listening to music on her smartphone through headphones
Image shows a woman suffering from tinnitus

Online tinnitus test

People with tinnitus often experience hearing loss too. Our quick online tinnitus test can help give you an idea of whether or not you might have tinnitus and/or hearing loss, and what you can do about it.

Question 1
Do you ever experience ringing or buzzing sounds in your ear(s) when no external sound is present?
Do you ever have trouble falling asleep or concentrating due to any ringing or buzzing sounds in your ear(s)?
Do you ever have trouble following conversations because you don’t hear properly?
Do you find yourself turning up the volume on the TV or radio louder than normal?

Your result:

Indications of tinnitus and hearing loss

Your answers indicate that you may experience symptoms of tinnitus and hearing loss. We recommend that you visit one of our clinics. There are hearing aids that can treat your hearing loss and might give you relief from your tinnitus.*

Book a FREE hearing test in a clinic near you

* The result of the test may only be used for guidance. Official conclusions about hearing loss/tinnitus can be provided by our registered hearing care experts.

Your result:

Indications of hearing loss

Your answers indicate that you may experience symptoms of hearing loss but it's unlikely that you have symptoms of tinnitus. We recommend that you visit one of our clinics to to see if you have a hearing loss that should be treated.*

Book a FREE hearing test in a clinic near you

* The result of the test may only be used for guidance. Official conclusions about hearing loss/tinnitus can be provided by our registered hearing care experts.

Your result:

Symptoms of tinnitus indicated

Your answers indicate that you may experience symptoms of tinnitus. We recommend that you read about tinnitus treatment options to learn about how to cope with and find relief from tinnitus symptoms.*

* The result of the test may only be used for guidance. Official conclusions about hearing loss/tinnitus can be provided by our registered hearing care experts.

Your result:

Tinnitus or hearing loss unlikely

Your answers indicate that it is unlikely that you have tinnitus - or that you have non-bothersome tinnitus that is not currently affecting your everyday life. If you experience symptoms of tinnitus in the future, we recommend visiting one of our hearing clinics.

* The result of the test may only be used for guidance. Official conclusions about hearing loss/tinnitus can be provided by our registered hearing care experts.

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Treat ear infections quickly

Getting an ear infection treated quickly and effectively with prescribed medication can help reduce the risk of any long-term damage that could lead to tinnitus. 

Ignoring any ear infections in the hope they’ll go away on their own could just lead to more problems. 

Types of ear infections

Don’t put things into your ear

You can go a long way towards helping to prevent tinnitus, or lower the risk of developing it during your lifetime. The most obvious and simple way is to protect the ears from any type of damage. You ears have a natural self-cleaning process, so there is no need to insert things into the ear canal like cotton buds to remove wax from the ears. 

Pushing foreign objects into the ears can risk damaging the eardrum and can even make the build-up of ear wax worse. You might accidentally push it further down the ear channel and compact it even more.

 

Image shows a man protecting his ears from loud industrial noise

Protect your ears

Noise damage is one of the main causes of hearing loss in the general population. You can be left with tinnitus after being exposed to a loud sound, whether you’ve also been left with hearing loss or not. 

Wearing ear plugs or ear defenders in noisy workplaces is important for preventing tinnitus and hearing loss, especially if you spend long hours in a noisy work environment most days. Health and safety regulations may require the use of ear protection in noisy work environments, but you need to make sure you use the equipment provided. Not doing so may lead to hearing loss and/or tinnitus.

Noise-induced hearing loss

Sources

1   Relationship between Subjective Tinnitus Perception and Psychiatric Discomfort (tinnitusjournal.com)

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