Tinnitus however, tolerate it well, and it is a significant problem in only 1–2% of people. The word tinnitus is from the Latin "tinnīre" which means "to ring". Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is the description of a noise inside a person’s head in the absence of auditory stimulation. The noise can be described in many different ways. It is usually described as a ringing noise but, in some patients, it takes the form of a high-pitched whining, electric buzzing, hissing, humming, tinging or whistling sound or as ticking, clicking, roaring, "crickets"
Tinnitus masker wide band white or pink noise, narrow band white noise, a notched soundfield, frequency or amplitude modulated sound, intermittent pulsed sound, or other patterned sound. Temporally patterned sound may be more effective than white noise or background music in masking tinnitus. Studies have found that bandpass maskers are less annoying than pure tone maskers, that the annoyance rating of bandpass maskers is proportional to bandwidth, that intermittent maskers were more annoying than continuous ones, and that control over the center frequency and bandwidth was important in minimizing the annoyance of maskers. In addition to the spectrum of masking sound, the