Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Noise such as buzzing, ringing, or whistling, heard in the ear without an external stimulus and having multiple causes including infection, trauma, and drugs.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In medicine, a ringing in the ears.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) A ringing, whistling, or other imaginary noise perceived in the ears; -- called also tinnitus aurium.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The perception of noise, such as a ringing or beating sound, which has no external source.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a ringing or booming sensation in one or both ears; a symptom of an ear infection or Meniere's disease

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin tinnītus, from past participle of tinnīre, to ring, of imitative origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin tinnītus ("a jingling, ringing").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word tinnitus.

Examples

  • The word tinnitus comes from the Latin for ringing, and people hear noises ringing, buzzing, whistling in one or both ears, or in their heads.

    Dr Luisa Dillner's guide to . . . Tinnitus 2011

  • I forget you are deaf Flo, my tinnitus is a constant nuisance.

    Sources of Authority Ancient and Modern Newmania 2008

  • One cause of tinnitus is exposure to loud noise: for example, in the U.S., nearly half of the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who were exposed to explosions or gunfire suffer from it.

    Tinnitus: the sound of silence ewillett 2008

  • In many people, the source of the tinnitus is idiopathic (no known cause).

    Tinnitus: the sound of silence ewillett 2008

  • One of the challenges in researching tinnitus is developing an animal model.

    Tinnitus: the sound of silence ewillett 2008

  • The columnist states that tinnitus is caused by exposure to loud noise.

    Tinnitus: the sound of silence ewillett 2008

  • God, I'm old, but I have no interest in tinnitus tonightus.

    APAture Live 2008

  • Flor believes tinnitus is also a kind of phantom sensation, so her group tried using the same principle in reverse to treat it.

    Boing Boing: March 17, 2002 - March 23, 2002 Archives 2002

  • • Long-term tinnitus affects around one in every 100 according to Department of Health statistics, and is most common in older people.

    Home | Mail Online 2009

  • ear/nose/throat specialist in Atlanta , who shared the following information about long-term tinnitus and possible treatments.

    CNN.com 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.