Silence the sound that only you can hear
Our audiologists identify what is driving your tinnitus and build a management plan around your specific symptoms — serving Point Loma, Coronado, and greater San Diego County.
Tinnitus is the perception of ringing, buzzing, hissing, roaring, or other sounds that have no external source. It affects an estimated 10 to 15 percent of adults in the United States — more than 50 million people — and for roughly one in five of them, the sound is disruptive enough to require clinical attention.
Tinnitus is a symptom, not a disease. That distinction matters because the evaluation is designed to find what is producing the signal — whether that is sensorineural hearing loss, noise exposure history, a medication effect, a vascular pattern, or something else entirely. Most tinnitus is subjective, meaning only you can hear it, but the audiologist can still measure its pitch, loudness, and masking level during a clinical appointment. That data shapes the recommendations.
At Peninsula Hearing & Balance Center, a tinnitus evaluation begins with a detailed case history covering when the sound started, whether it is constant or intermittent, what makes it better or worse, and how it is affecting your daily life. A full audiological evaluation follows, and validated questionnaires help document the functional impact — broken sleep, trouble focusing in a quiet room, heightened irritability — so the plan addresses your actual experience. We see patients across San Diego Metro, including Point Loma, Coronado, and greater San Diego County.
What tinnitus sounds like and why it varies
Patients describe tinnitus as ringing, buzzing, hissing, whooshing, clicking, chirping, or pulsing — sometimes steady, sometimes intermittent, sometimes shifting in pitch or volume. The variation is not random; different underlying causes tend to produce different sound profiles, which is one reason a detailed history is a useful diagnostic tool. Tinnitus can appear in one ear, both ears, or seem to come from inside the head, and those patterns also carry clinical information worth capturing.
Common causes and contributing factors
Sensorineural hearing loss is the most frequently identified cause of tinnitus, which is why a hearing evaluation is a standard part of the workup. Noise exposure — occupational, recreational, or from firearms — is among the most significant preventable contributors. Other factors include certain medications, vascular conditions, jaw alignment issues, and psychological stressors such as anxiety; tinnitus and anxiety can each amplify the other, making a comprehensive history important for understanding the full picture. For veterans and service members, blast exposure, traumatic brain injury, and PTSD are each independently linked to tinnitus severity.
What the evaluation includes
The appointment begins with a thorough case history: onset, character of the sound, triggers, and the specific ways it is affecting your day and sleep. A full audiological evaluation measures your hearing across frequencies and identifies any underlying hearing loss. Additional testing can measure the pitch and loudness of your tinnitus directly, and validated questionnaires document functional impact so that baseline severity is on record and progress can be tracked. From that complete picture, the audiologist explains what the findings mean and what management options are appropriate for your situation.
How tinnitus is managed
No single intervention eliminates tinnitus for everyone, and we do not promise otherwise. What a well-constructed management plan can do is reduce how much the sound intrudes on sleep, concentration, and conversation. For patients who also have hearing loss, properly fitted hearing technology often reduces the perceptual contrast that makes tinnitus more noticeable. Sound therapy, structured counseling approaches, and strategies for sleep and concentration are among the tools available depending on what the evaluation finds. The plan is built around your pattern of symptoms, not a one-size protocol.
When to seek an evaluation
Consider scheduling an evaluation if tinnitus has been present for more than a few weeks, if it began suddenly or in only one ear, if it is disrupting your sleep or your ability to focus in a quiet room, or if it appeared following noise exposure, a head injury, or a change in medication. Tinnitus that pulses in time with your heartbeat warrants prompt attention. Early evaluation produces a clearer baseline and more options — waiting until the impact is severe narrows the path.
Tinnitus is the leading service-related disability among U.S. military veterans, and research at the VA San Diego Healthcare System has linked blast exposure, TBI, and PTSD to worsened symptoms — our audiologists are experienced in evaluating tinnitus in this population and understand what a complete workup needs to capture.
Common Questions
Is tinnitus permanent?
Can an audiologist actually measure my tinnitus?
My hearing seems fine — could I still have tinnitus related to hearing loss?
I am a veteran. Is tinnitus evaluation different for me?
Will I be told there is nothing that can be done?
Available at all our locations
Tinnitus Treatment is offered at every Peninsula Hearing & Balance Center office. Pick the location nearest you:
Ready to find out what is driving your tinnitus
Use the button below to schedule a tinnitus evaluation with a doctor of audiology at Peninsula Hearing & Balance Center. Your audiologist will review your full history, measure your hearing across frequencies, document how the sound is affecting your sleep and concentration, and walk you through the findings in plain language.