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
Virtual body the disembodied essence of a person's mind in cyberspace and the consequent representation of a person's identity as a virtual body in cyberspace. The 'disembodiment' discourse focuses around allowing the mind to wander without the physical inhibitions of the body. This discourse is regarded as an expansion of classic theories such as astral projection or 'out-of-body experiences'. Subsequently, the virtual body is regarded as psychologically created essence that is virtually floating between information. This information in turn, according to theories, affects the mind and the virtual body but has no interaction with the physical body, which has deployed a "technological