Interactive Tinnitus Pitch Matcher & Notch Therapy Lab
Sweep the frequency slider between 250 Hz and 14,000 Hz at low volume (20–25%) to match your ringing pitch, verify one octave up/down, and launch 1-octave notched pink noise therapy.
1. Select Probe Waveform
2. Select Acoustic Therapy Mode
1-octave notch filter centered at 4000 Hz (2828–5657 Hz removed from pink noise).
Why tinnitus sounds different from person to person
Although the word tinnitus comes from the Latin tinnire ("to ring"), fewer than half of the people seen in tinnitus clinics describe a clean, bell-like ring. A 2022 global meta-analysis by Jarach and colleagues in JAMA Neurology estimated that roughly 14% of adults experience tinnitus, and their descriptions span everything from a thin electrical whine to radio static, crickets, a refrigerator hum or a rhythmic whoosh.
The sound you hear depends on where and how wide the underlying change in your auditory pathway is. When a narrow patch of inner-ear hair cells loses sensitivity—say around 4,000 Hz after loud noise exposure—the brain's auditory cortex often generates a crisp, single-pitch tone. When sensitivity drops across a broader band of high frequencies, dozens of adjacent frequency channels fire together and the result sounds like a rushing hiss, shower spray or a field of cicadas. And when the sound comes from blood flow or tiny middle-ear muscle spasms rather than nerve activity, it has a physical rhythm of its own.
Common tinnitus sounds, what they resemble and when to get checked
| Sound Type | How People Describe It | How to Approximate It in mindspeace | When to See a Doctor or Audiologist |
|---|---|---|---|
| High tonal ring / whistle | Old CRT television whine, tea kettle, tuning fork, laser beep (usually 3,000 – 10,000 Hz) | Open Tinnitus → Pure tone probe → sweep 3,000–9,000 Hz at low volume | Routine hearing test recommended; urgent if sudden or in one ear only |
| Hissing / static / steam | Radiator hiss, shower across the hall, FM radio between stations, air leak | Tinnitus panel → Narrow noise probe, or play Pink / White noise at 15% | Routine audiology check; very common with gradual high-frequency hearing changes |
| Cicadas / crickets / buzzing | Summer insects at night, electrical transformer buzz, sizzling wire | Tinnitus panel → Narrow noise around 5,000–8,000 Hz, or turn on Night Crickets in Sounds | Routine check; responds well to nature sound enrichment at bedtime |
| Low roar / hum / rumble | Idling lorry outside, refrigerator motor, seashell held to the ear (100 – 500 Hz) | Tinnitus panel → Pure tone at 250–500 Hz, or low Brown noise | Have an ENT or GP check for earwax, middle-ear fluid or (if paired with vertigo/ear fullness) Ménière's pattern |
| Whooshing / thumping in time with pulse | Heartbeat in the pillow, rhythmic wind whoosh matching your pulse (pulsatile tinnitus) | Do not try to mask aggressively; keep any background sound very soft | Book a medical evaluation: pulsatile tinnitus often has a vascular or pressure cause a doctor can examine |
| Clicking / fluttering / tapping | Rapid typewriter clicks, moth wings fluttering inside the ear, morse code | Not a tonal frequency; gentle rain can make episodes less distracting | See an ENT if frequent; often caused by tiny middle-ear muscle spasms (tensor tympani / stapedius myoclonus) or Eustachian tube clicks |
Subjective vs. rhythmic tinnitus: the distinction a doctor cares about most
When you describe your tinnitus to a GP, ENT specialist or audiologist, two details help them more than anything else: is it constant or rhythmic, and is it in both ears or just one?
Steady ringing, hissing or buzzing (subjective tinnitus)
This is by far the most common form. Only you can hear it, and its pitch stays broadly steady even if it seems louder in a quiet bedroom or after a stressful workday. You can use our tinnitus frequency test to estimate its hertz range and try notched or masking sound in tinnitus sound therapy.
Heartbeat-synced whooshing (pulsatile tinnitus) or rapid clicking
If you take your pulse at your wrist and the whooshing in your ear beats at the exact same tempo, tell a doctor. Pulsatile tinnitus is usually a real physical sound inside the head—blood moving through a vessel near the inner ear, raised fluid pressure or middle-ear changes—that your cochlea is picking up like a microphone. Because a clinician can often identify and treat the underlying cause, it should always be evaluated medically rather than just masked with audio.
How to demonstrate your tinnitus sound to family or match it for therapy
One of the hardest parts of living with tinnitus is that nobody else in the room can hear what you hear. If you want to show a partner what your ears sound like—or dial in a soothing bedtime soundscape—open the Tinnitus panel at the bottom of this page:
- Choose Pure tone or Narrow noise depending on whether your ear whistles or hisses.
- Slide between 250 Hz and 14,000 Hz at a quiet volume until the sound matches your perception.
- Switch from Probe to Therapy to hear how removing that frequency band (Notched noise) or surrounding it with soft rain and pink noise makes the internal tone stand out less against silence.
If nights are the hardest time, see our guide on tinnitus sounds for sleep for specific speaker and mixer setups that won't tire your ears.
Medical red flags: Seek prompt medical care if your tinnitus is in one ear only, pulses with your heartbeat, began suddenly after a loud sound or illness, or comes with a drop in hearing, ear fullness or dizziness. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss is a medical emergency.
Frequently asked questions
Can tinnitus sound like crickets or cicadas?
Yes. High-frequency broadband tinnitus (often around 5,000 to 9,000 Hz) frequently sounds like summer cicadas or night crickets because many adjacent auditory nerve fibres fire at slightly different pitches.
Why do I hear a low hum in my ear like a distant engine?
Low-frequency tinnitus (below 500 Hz) can sound like an idling truck or fridge motor. First check whether an actual appliance or outside plumbing is making the sound; if it is only in your ear, an ENT can check for earwax, middle-ear pressure or fluid.
What does it mean if my tinnitus whooshes in time with my heartbeat?
Rhythmic whooshing that matches your pulse is called pulsatile tinnitus. Unlike ordinary ringing, it often reflects blood flow or pressure changes near the ear and should always be checked by a doctor.
Why does my tinnitus change pitch when I clench my jaw or turn my neck?
About two-thirds of people with tinnitus can briefly alter its pitch or loudness with jaw, neck or eye movements. Nerve pathways from the jaw and neck meet auditory pathways in the brainstem's dorsal cochlear nucleus.