Tinnitus masker sensation level (SL), is how much louder the tinnitus is above the ambient noise of the environment. By raising the ambient level of noise (playing white noise into the ear), the apparent loudness of tinnitus is reduced. The noise level is close to and usually somewhat louder than the perceived loudness of the tinnitus. The generated noise is designed to be a calming, less intrusive sound than the ringing or hissing of tinnitus. Depending on the loudness of the noise, tinnitus may be fully or partially masked. Tinnitus masking cannot reduce or eliminate tinnitus, only reduce awareness of it. The
Tinnitus masker in 90% of persons but in rare cases, an hour or more. The period of complete silence is usually seconds to about a minute. If the trigger sound is repeated at intervals, tinnitus can be suppressed as long as the repetition lasts. The residual inhibition (RI) effect first noted in 1903: the capacity of a sound of the right frequency and intensity to briefly attenuate or suppress tinnitus. To distinguish the tailored sound used for inhibition from the broadband undifferentiated sound employed in tinnitus maskers, it is usually referred to as the 'trigger' or 'quieting' sound. The trigger sound is