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tinnitus

American  
[ti-nahy-tuhs, tin-i-] / tɪˈnaɪ təs, ˈtɪn ɪ- /

noun

Pathology.

  1. a ringing or similar sensation of sound in the ears.

tinnitus British  
/ ˈtɪnɪtəs, tɪˈnaɪtəs /

noun

  1. pathol a ringing, hissing, or booming sensation in one or both ears, caused by infection of the middle or inner ear, a side effect of certain drugs, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
tinnitus Scientific  
/ tĭn′ĭ-təs,tĭ-nī′- /

  1. A buzzing, ringing, or whistling sound in one or both ears occurring without an external stimulus. Its causes include ear infection or blockage, certain drugs, head injury, and neurologic disease.

Etymology

Origin of tinnitus

First recorded in 1685–95; from Latin tinnītus “a tinkling,” noun use of past participle of tinnīre “to tinkle,” of imitative origin

Explanation

Tinnitus is a ringing, buzzing, or booming in your ears. It could be caused by Meniere's disease or by an ear infection. Tinnitus involves not only a loss of hearing, but also the addition of sounds in your head. Most commonly, tinnitus consists of a ringing in the ear. You can have tinnitus in one or both ears, and tinnitus can be temporary or permanent. Many rock musicians have tinnitus because years of being near extremely loud speakers has damaged their hearing.

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Vocabulary lists containing tinnitus

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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 13–August 19, 2022

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Thousands of British military personnel have started legal action after being given ear protection they say was faulty and led to life-changing injuries such as tinnitus and deafness.

From BBC • Sep. 29, 2025

Townshend later blamed that incident for his hearing loss and tinnitus.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2025

He has memory lapses, permanent hearing loss in both ears and tinnitus that “feels like a bug marching through my eardrums.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2024

White noise has been used to treat ringing or buzzing in the ear, called tinnitus.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024

Plica began after an attack of acute fever, with pains like those of acute rheumatism in the head and extremities, and possibly vertigo, tinnitus aurium, ophthalmia, or coryza.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.