
Tinnitus Awareness Week 2025
Tinnitus Awareness Week 2025 is something that I keep my eyes on every year as I have struggled with this condition for many years now. I am excited about this year’s campaign as there is a new report out so let’s chat about it.

What is Tinnitus?
Tinnitus is a condition where you can hear sound when there is no external reason for it, and I often say it is like when you leave a loud concert. Often you cannot hear what people are saying and there is a ringing or buzzing in your ears for a short time.
I cannot remember when I started to have tinnitus, but I know for a long time I thought it was just an annoying side effect of ear wax. I have struggled with too much ear wax most of my life and have had to have my ears syringed a couple times a year since I was little.
Many memories of being a child and having cold drops put into my ears and then having to go see our doctor because I couldn’t hear. To be honest, I enjoyed the feeling when the water popped the wax, and it came out because suddenly everything was loud.
Now as an adult having to chronically use drops in my ears at least once a week to keep on top of it is annoying. Also, I am not a big fan of the new vacuum style of clearing my ears as I can feel it around my eyes, and it can be painful.
Tinnitus can be caused by hearing loss, inner ear damage, sensitivity to loud noises, ear infections, blood pressure changes, wax buildup, or even jaw misalignment. I have never had anyone look into the cause, but I assume for me it is the wax, and I was told some people overproduce it and nobody knows why.
Tinnitus can be caused by hearing loss, inner ear damage, sensitivity to loud noises, ear infections, blood pressure changes, wax buildup, or even jaw misalignment. Share on XTinnitus Report
For tinnitus awareness week 2025, Tinnitus UK have spoken to audiologists about their care of patients with this condition. It has revealed many shortcomings, not only in the NHS but also within the private sector.
Unfortunately, as a patient I am not surprised to read about what they have found and have struggled to gain any understanding or compassion from the professionals I have seen. They rarely seem to realise how much it affects our lives, and how hearing constant noise can be distracting and depressing at times.
The official report shows that there are excessive waiting time with some people waiting up to three years to have ENT appointments and over a year to have hearing aid help or therapy. Clearly waiting so long for help with really impact mental health and quality of life if people are struggling to hear and communicate in their day to day lives.
As well as this, private audiologists appeared to see tinnitus as a low priority with up to 36% placing profits of other symptoms above this one. I think if they struggled with it, they would change their minds, and the idea of money coming before treating someone who is suffering why I am against private healthcare.
The report also showed that many audiologists do not follow NICE guidelines, even offering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to treat it! There is a reason we have NICE guidelines so that everyone is treated the same and with dignity so the idea that there are doctors not following them is shocking!
They found as well that UK audiology graduates do not have clinical experience and understanding of tinnitus. This would mean that as they go on to practice, they will not have the knowledge to treat their patients with it correctly.
With the publication of their report, the charity hopes to change all of these things, and to make sure all patients are treated correctly and with respect. I am so hoping that this report is sent to everyone who is an audiologist or hoping to become one so that these things change.
I know for me, that when I tell health professionals that I have tinnitus they rarely even write it down. It almost feels as if because it cannot be seen, like my chronic pain and fatigue, that it is thought to be either in my mind or not as bad as I experience.
Personally, I wish all the charities would do reports like this and that healthcare providers were pushed by official findings to change their attitudes. Let me know in the comments your thoughts about this report for tinnitus awareness week 2025.
Thank you xx
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