What is tinnitus? Tinnitus is a common clinical symptom, which is a sound sensation in the inner ear or head without any external corresponding sound source or electrical stimulation. In the words of the common people, tinnitus is ‘ears screaming’ and ‘ears ringing’. Some people describe their tinnitus as like a train rumbling, some feel it like a robin’s call, i.e. cicada chirping, and some describe it as that spiky sound of hard chalk scratching on a blackboard. Most people experience tinnitus in their lifetime. Many people who suffer from transient tinnitus take a little herbal medicine, adjust their diet and emotions, and the tinnitus fades away and they no longer see a doctor. However, some people have persistent tinnitus, accompanied by dizziness and deafness, and mistake themselves for kidney deficiency and fire, which often delays the diagnosis and treatment. What diseases can cause tinnitus? The causes of tinnitus are complex and can generally be divided into two main categories: diseases of otogenic origin; and diseases of non-otogenic origin. People can hear sound because the sound waves pass through the outer ear, eardrum, middle ear, inner ear, and auditory nerve to the brain center, called the auditory pathway. Just like when we turn on a light, we need to start the switch by pulling the switch, and the wire current flows smoothly so that the light bulb can light up. Problems with each link in the auditory pathway can cause otogenic tinnitus. Therefore, a patient with tinnitus will be examined by a specialist for the relevant system. If otogenic diseases are ruled out, the doctor screens the patient for related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cervical spondylosis, etc. If all diseases are ruled out, tinnitus triggered by psychological factors can be considered. In addition, tinnitus is different from phantom hearing. Phantom hearing refers to patients hearing describable and specific sounds, such as music and other people’s speech, without any external corresponding sound source, which is often caused by mental illness Can tinnitus be treated? Tinnitus, like other diseases, can be treated early to help it get better and recover. After a haircut, broken hair falls into the ear canal, and since one end can touch the eardrum, a sound similar to drumming will be heard after touching the ear with your hand, and after removing the hair, the tinnitus disappears. The tinnitus and stuffy ears that occur briefly after flying, hiking, or getting angry are caused by the negative pressure in the middle ear. The structure connecting the middle ear and the nasal cavity is called the eustachian tube, and many people have similar experiences, pinching their nose and puffing, opening their mouth and lifting their chin, and using their fingers to press the ear screen. If someone’s tinnitus is pulsating and synchronized with his or her pulse, be careful of jugular vein bullae, which require surgical removal of the tumor for the tinnitus to disappear. If someone’s tinnitus is accompanied by neurological deafness and in some cases facial paralysis, beware of an auditory neuroma. In the early stage (usually less than 1 cm) of auditory neuroma, no craniotomy is needed, and it can be treated with gamma knife irradiation. If the diagnosis and treatment are delayed because of kidney deficiency or fire, larger auditory neuromas not only increase the risk to the patient’s life, but also increase the risk and difficulty of surgery. Can tinnitus be prevented? Tinnitus is often an “alarm” of physical damage. Many drugs such as streptomycin for tuberculosis, gentamicin for infections, chemotherapy drugs such as nitrogen mustard and cisplatin for various tumor patients, diuretics such as tachyphylaxis, and antipyretic drugs such as salicylates, etc., often appear before hearing loss damage. Patients with hypertension who experience tinnitus or worsening of tinnitus indicate that the condition may be deteriorating further or that the tinnitus is a side effect of a certain oral antihypertensive drug and requires adjustment of the drug and treatment plan. In the later stages of Ménière’s disease and sudden deafness, patients develop persistent and intractable tinnitus. Some patients are so distressed that they give up their hearing in the hope of controlling the tinnitus, therefore, early diagnosis and treatment for Ménière’s disease and sudden deafness can not only try to save hearing but also control the tinnitus. What about persistent tinnitus? Due to the complexity of the tinnitus disease, due to the limitation of human’s own ability to recognize the disease, and due to the lack of effective examination means and exact treatment plan for tinnitus, not all tinnitus can be found the cause and completely cured. Doctors need a combination of psychotherapy, masking therapy, and habituation therapy, and patients need to cooperate with doctors by adjusting their emotions, changing their attitude toward life, and strengthening their knowledge of the disease in order to cure the persistent disease together. In addition, Chinese medicine in China has unique advantages in the treatment of tinnitus. According to Chinese medicine, tinnitus is clinically divided into two categories: deficiency and actual. Diagnosis is followed by evidence-based treatment. It is worth noting that in the course of TCM treatment, it is important to remember that cranial tumors may cause tinnitus to avoid misdiagnosis.