Tinnitus Bothers Millions Of Americans. Here's How To Turn Down The Noise

Imagine a sound that travels with you no matter where you go. Whether it's a ring, a whoosh, or a crickets-like buzz, you can't escape it.

"Mine was like this high-pitched sonic sound," says Elizabeth Fraser, who developed tinnitus last fall. It came on suddenly at a time when many people delayed doctor visits due to the pandemic. "It just felt like an invasion in my head, so I was really distressed," Fraser recalls.

Tinnitus is the perception of ringing, when, in fact, no external sound is actually being produced. "You can equate it to a phantom sound," explains Sarah Sydlowski, a doctor of audiology at Cleveland Clinic.

The CDC estimates that 20 million Americans have chronic tinnitus. And studies show the pandemic ushered in both new cases, and a among people who already