Tinnitus Education Corner with Dr. Jennifer Gans

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans Tinnitus holds a unique place in medicine. It is a very credible complaint. The person in front of you is hearing a real sound, and many are frightened by it. And yet, when you go looking for something broken, you usually don’t find it. That is the puzzle I want to talk about with my

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans For people experiencing tinnitus, the perceived loudness of ringing, buzzing, or other internal sounds can vary considerably. Sometimes tinnitus seems to become more intrusive even when there is no obvious change in hearing or the surrounding environment. One reason is that tinnitus perception involves more than the auditory signal itself. Attention, emotional responses, and the

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans For many people, tinnitus is unsettling from the moment it begins. Hearing ringing, buzzing, or humming without an obvious external source can prompt an immediate question: Is something wrong? That uncertainty can set off a powerful response. The brain becomes alert to an unfamiliar sensation, attention narrows, and the sound may begin to feel increasingly

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans Many people say about their tinnitus: “It’s manageable during the day, but at night it becomes unbearable.” This is one of the most common tinnitus experiences—and it makes complete sense once you understand what your brain is doing. Tinnitus is not actually worse at night What changes is your environment and your brain state. What

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans When tinnitus becomes bothersome, it can feel as if the sound is the whole problem. But often, the sound is only part of the story. Tinnitus is a real, brain-generated sound. The sound itself is not dangerous. The distress comes when the brain and nervous system mislabel the sound as important, threatening, or something that

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans People with bothersome tinnitus are particularly vulnerable to misinformation. This is not because they are gullible. It is because tinnitus can be frightening, unfamiliar, and difficult to understand—especially when it first appears. When someone suddenly hears a sound that no one else can hear, the natural response is often to search for an explanation. Why

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans Understanding tinnitus teaches us a fundamental principle about how the brain works across all sensory systems. The Brain Hates Missing Information When the brain loses or receives reduced sensory input—whether through changes in vision, hearing, touch, taste, balance, or smell—it does not simply go quiet. Instead, it often fills in the gaps. This is exactly

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans Tinnitus Explained in 60 Seconds Most people think tinnitus means something is wrong with the ear. But tinnitus is actually a remarkable example of how the brain works—and the kinds of errors it can make, especially during times of stress. Your brain is constantly predicting the world around you. In many ways, it is a

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans When the Brain’s Sound System Is Disrupted Tinnitus—the perception of sound without an external source—is commonly described as ringing, buzzing, or humming in the ears. While tinnitus is often associated with hearing loss from aging or noise exposure, it is also frequently reported after traumatic brain injury (TBI). In fact, tinnitus is one of the

By Dr. Jennifer J. Gans When tinnitus first appears, the brain often reacts automatically. A sound is noticed—ringing, buzzing, or humming—and within seconds the mind begins to interpret it. What is that sound? Is something wrong? What if it gets worse? These thoughts are not unusual. The brain is designed to detect potential threats, and anything unfamiliar in our sensory