Scientists are making progress toward a better understanding and treatment of tinnitus, the “invisible” disorder often known as ringing in the ears. While tinnitus can range from a soft nuisance to a severe mental health challenge, diagnosing and treating it has relied chiefly on patient self-reporting, until now. New research funded by the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders offers hope to the estimated 12% of people affected by tinnitus, with numbers rising to 25% or higher among older adults. The study was reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
What Is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is the perception of a sound that isn’t physically present, a “phantom” ringing, hissing, or buzzing. For most people, tinnitus is mild and can recede into the background. For some, though, it seriously disrupts their life, making it hard to sleep, concentrate, or feel emotionally at ease.
Severe tinnitus often isn’t about the sound being louder. Instead, it impacts brain systems that handle mood, arousal, and the ability to tune out unimportant noise. People with intense symptoms may also struggle with depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, or sound sensitivity.
Moving Beyond Subjective Diagnosis
Diagnosing tinnitus has always been tricky. Unlike conditions such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s, no clear physical marker signaled the presence or severity of tinnitus—only questionnaires and patient interviews. This left physicians without objective tools to measure the disorder or track the effects of treatment.
Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School, led by Dr. Daniel Polley, set out to change that. Their research looked at involuntary pupil dilation and subtle facial movements in response to sounds. The goal: find reliable, physical signals that reveal not just if someone has tinnitus, but how severe it is.
How the New Test Works
The study measured two bodily reactions—how much people’s pupils dilate (a sympathetic “fight, flight, or freeze” response) and the way their facial muscles move (like smiling or frowning) when exposed to different sounds. These sounds ranged from neutral (like a typewriter) to pleasant (a giggling baby) to unpleasant (heavy coughing).
The results revealed that people with severe tinnitus, especially those sensitive to sound, had less facial movement no matter what sound they heard: their faces showed little reaction, whether the sound was positive, neutral, or negative. Meanwhile, their pupils dilated more than those of people without tinnitus or with milder symptoms. These reactions offer a physiological window into the severity of tinnitus—a dramatic shift from relying solely on self-reports.
What the Future Holds
This breakthrough could help diagnose tinnitus more accurately and track the effects of treatments with objective, easy-to-measure signs. As researchers aim to create a video-based system for clinics, doctors may soon have faster, more reliable ways to assess and treat tinnitus patients, and to distinguish genuinely effective therapies from those that only seem to work because of the placebo effect.
By bringing objective measurement to the field, scientists hope to make real progress in helping the millions of people who quietly suffer from tinnitus. Some report that various apps and streaming platforms that have audio tones and music can offer temporary relief.
