Tinnitus Week 2025
- davidmiller917
- Feb 13
- 6 min read
Tinnitus week this year runs from 3rd Feb to 9th Feb 2025. It is a time to raise awareness of this condition in which 1 in 7 adults experience. It’s likely either yourself or someone you know has been affected by this. Tinnitus can be a debilitating illness for some, whereas for others it is a minor part of their day. This goes to show just how tinnitus can differ between each person.
Workplace Ear Care has a focus on our hearing health and tinnitus is just one aspect of our hearing.
So what is tinnitus?
Tinnitus is an internal sound we can hear which isn’t actually being caused by any external noises. These internal sounds are often described as ringing, buzzing, rushing, amongst other descriptions.
Those who have tinnitus may have it all the time, or it may come and go.
We might perceive these sounds to be in one ear, both ears, or in the middle of our head. This differs for each person along with the volume of their tinnitus. There is no one size fits all and everyone has their own experience when it comes to tinnitus.
There are various different reasons as to why we get tinnitus. A lot of the time it is assumed it’s due to loud noise exposure however, this isn’t always the case.
The following are some possible causes of tinnitus
· Changes in our hearing
· Noise exposure
· Ear wax or fluid behind the ear drums (glue ear)
· Medication
· Stress
· Head trauma
· Diet
A hearing test could help with your tinnitus
The presence of tinnitus can be (but not always) due to undiagnosed hearing loss, and could indicate there’s been a change in your hearing. A hearing test is the best way to find out more about your hearing. It can provide a great baseline of your hearing, which can be monitored over time and helps provide us as Audiologists with helpful information regarding your tinnitus and hearing.
Why should we have a hearing test?
A hearing test / hearing assessment starts with a physical check of your ears with an otoscope. This can determine if the ear is clear of ear wax, which can cause a blockage and increase your awareness of tinnitus. The hearing test itself will find out your true hearing thresholds; this is the quietest sound level you can hear at particular sound frequencies. The hearing assessment will test your hearing across the speech frequencies and indicates whether your hearing is within normal range.
How does tinnitus affect us with a hearing loss?
Tinnitus can sometimes be an indication of hearing loss. However, having a hearing loss does not mean you will have tinnitus, because tinnitus doesn’t affect everyone.
When your hearing experiences permanent change, it means the hair cells within the cochlea (in the inner ear) are not functioning as well as they used to. This affects how well signals are sent to the brain. These hair cells will have previously been used to fire sound signals to the brain, and because they’re no longer sending signals as frequently, they essentially like to fill any gaps and keep themselves busy by sending their own sound.
This action then creates your internal tinnitus sounds that only you can hear. As your hearing changes and more frequencies are affected, this could result in changes to your tinnitus such as the type of sound and the volume level you hear.
A hearing test can provide some answers when it comes to tinnitus as Audiologists can find out about the structure and health of your outer, middle and inner ear.
Subtle changes to hearing and mild tinnitus can happen over time; a hearing test is not just about hearing loss but about our overall auditory health.
Is tinnitus affecting your employees’ performance?
Tinnitus is commonly thought to only affect those working in noisy environments. But the reality is tinnitus can affect anybody in any workplace – even quiet offices – and can lead to decreased morale and performance.
Tinnitus can be associated with stress; either we find ourselves in a stressed state and tinnitus can be our body’s reaction to feeling stressed. Or, we find ourselves worrying about the tinnitus we hear, which causes us to feel more stressed, which in turn increases the volume and intensity of the tinnitus. This vicious cycle is something the employee may need additional help with due to the impact of the stress and fatigue tinnitus can cause.
Often tinnitus is thought to only affect those who work in noisy environments due to noise exposure. However, this is not always the case and employees who work in quiet workplaces can also be affected by tinnitus.
Why does tinnitus matter for employers as well as employees?
From an employer’s perspective, offering employees regular ear checks and hearing tests demonstrates care for their overall wellbeing. Regular hearing tests will help determine if your employees have any early signs of hearing loss and also help to manage tinnitus on a more timely basis. This demonstration of care, and access to regular health checks creates a healthier, happier work environment, which boosts employee performance.
Hearing assessments aren’t just for factory workers or construction teams—even in quiet offices, hearing health matters. Supporting employees’ wellbeing leads to better engagement, productivity, and retention. It’s a win-win for both employers and employees.
How can we support our employees’ with tinnitus?
Looking after our employees’ who have tinnitus is so important when it comes to inclusion.
There are a number of ways to create a workplace which supports your employees who have tinnitus.
It’s important to discuss with your employee how they manage their tinnitus best. Those with tinnitus are affected in different ways, and it’s important to understand from them how they feel best supported.
Here are just a few things to consider and discuss within your workplace.
1: A quiet room within the workplace – sometimes those with tinnitus need time to sit and rest in a quiet room away from the noise of a busy workplace. Tinnitus can create fatigue and having a safe, quiet space to pause and rest can help employees feel supported and allow them to work more effectively.
2: If you work in a really quiet workplace, consider provisions to help mask the tinnitus. This could be some background music, a fan, or a specialist tinnitus masker. It sounds counterintuitive but enjoyable background noise can be a welcome distraction from the internal tinnitus sounds. Silence for some employees is when the tinnitus is most prominent and unbearable!
3: Ensure managers have an awareness and understanding of what tinnitus actually is. They may need some extra training to help introduce improvements to the workplace that help to support all employees.
4: Consider flexible working options. Tinnitus can have an impact on our sleep. This may mean some employees work better at different times of the day compared to the traditional 9-5 hours.
5: Providing regular hearing assessments allows employees to feel supported and recognised. Regular hearing assessments mean changes in hearing which could impact tinnitus can be detected earlier. Hearing health supports mental health and can help with stress levels too.
As tinnitus can affect employees in different ways, these considerations and discussions with employees allow for a personalised response to help them feel heard and respected. In turn this translates to improved productivity and happiness within the workplace!
Prevention is key: why regular hearing tests are so important
As employers, are you doing enough to support your employees’ hearing health?
It needs to be remembered that employees’ tinnitus and hearing health are not just personal issues, they affect workplace productivity and employees overall wellbeing. Hearing health matters year round, not just for Tinnitus Week.
Nicola at Workplace Ear Care has experienced many times patients who don’t know who to turn to when they have trouble with hearing or tinnitus. Workplace Ear Care aims to make hearing tests more accessible and raise awareness on the importance of proactivity when it comes to employees having a hearing test. No one should have to wait until there’s a problem, and businesses should be helping support employees to be aware of small changes to hearing, and help as these changes occur.
Offering hearing assessments and raising awareness of both tinnitus and hearing loss can:
✔️ Improve employee well-being
✔️ Reduce stress-related absences
✔️ Show you care about health beyond just physical safety
A healthy workforce is a happy, engaged, and productive workforce. Let’s make hearing health a workplace priority—not just for one week, but all year round.
Get in contact to book in annual hearing assessments for your employees!