Incessant noise of tinnitus can feel like torture

Tinnitus Week 2022 is taking place from 7-13 February and the British Tinnitus Association are calling for the establishment of a Tinnitus Biobank

The UK urgently needs a biobank library of human tissue samples so experts can study and find better treatments, or a cure, for "ringing in the ears", says the BTA.

More than seven million adults in the UK are thought to have tinnitus. This stressful and upsetting condition of hearing whooshing, buzzing or other intensely annoying sounds with no external source is poorly understood. For some, it becomes difficult or impossible to lead a normal life.

A survey by the charity, carried out in November with 2,600 people with tinnitus, suggests almost one in 10 living with the condition has experienced thoughts about suicide or self-harm in the past two years. One in three thought about their condition every hour - causing them anxiety and sadness. The BTA says other people with tinnitus share similar experiences of feeling isolated, debilitated and stressed.

Malcolm Hilton, an ear, nose and throat expert at University of Exeter's Medical School, says a national biobank for tinnitus would be massively beneficial, and might reveal better ways for managing the condition.

"There are many treatments available for tinnitus and it is disappointing that people still come away with the message that they have to 'learn to live with it' without support."

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Source: BBC News, 7 February 2022