Tinnitus background noise to one that can be heard even over loud external sounds. The specific type of tinnitus called pulsatile tinnitus is characterized by hearing the sounds of one's own pulse or muscle contractions, which is typically a result of sounds that have been created by the movement of muscles near to one's ear, or the sounds are related to blood flow of the neck or face. Due to variations in study designs, data on the course of tinnitus showed few consistent results. Generally the prevalence increased with age in adults, whereas the ratings of annoyance decreased with duration. Persistent
Tinnitus masker for hearing loss. Sound generators (masking devices) have received Class II approval from the FDA. However, they are considered to be “experimental, investigational, or unproven” therapies. There is one report of a bone conduction vibration masker that transmits a 60 Hz fundamental with adjustable harmonics up to 1000 Hz. A commercial device based on the phenomenon (Aurex3) was approved by the FDA. A new development in tinnitus management is the use of high audio (10 kHz-20 kHz) or ultrasonic (20-100 kHz) via bone conduction. A 2012 Cochrane Review stated the available studies do not show strong evidence of the efficacy