“I’ve seen many patients who developed tinnitus early in life after an incident like a firecracker exploding close by, but it disappeared. It returned as their hearing started decaying with age,” Vernon says.

Noise-related tinnitus
The federal agency that regulates job safety has set 85 decibels (dBA) over eight hours as safe for noise exposure. “For each additional five decibels, your safety time for noise exposure is cut in half,” Lalwani says. A vacuum cleaner’s 85 dBA may be safe for eight hours before harm develops, while a piccolo’s 120 dBA is safe for only 30 seconds or less.

Another common problem in tinnitus is that the higher frequencies of hearing (measured in hertz) are lost—and that’s when the ringing (or buzzing) becomes easier to hear. This hearing loss generally starts developing around 3,000 hertz.

Other tinnitus dangers
“While tinnitus isn’t life-threatening, it can present dangers to older adults.  Balance problems might be even more dangerous in someone with inner ear disorders,” Norman says.

“If you start taking a new medicine, and ringing or other noise develops, tell  your doctor immediately. Very often a different drug can be substituted, and the tinnitus can disappear if caught early,” Norman says. Blood pressure drugs,  certain antibiotics, and chemotherapy agents pose particular dangers.

Delays in diagnosis
There are several issues that often make tinnitus diagnosis happen later rather than sooner. “Many people see it as a natural part of aging and learn to cope with it,” Norman says. Some people tolerate what would be unbearable for someone else; others are debilitated by what some might classify as minor.

Sometimes the sound comes and goes. Older people, often having other health concerns, aren’t likely to mention it unless they’re at the doctor when the  tinnitus is in its “on” period. “Few of my patients come in with it as their major complaint,” Norman admits.

Instead, Norman usually finds tinnitus when she’s doing a complete physical, including hearing. That’s not something all primary care doctors check, mainly because there are no testing standards—another block to early diagnosis.

“There’s no magical level saying, ‘This percentage of loss is when you need a  hearing aid,’ and no consensus yet as to when to start testing for hearing problems,” Lalwani says. “Some say every decade from age 50 you should have a hearing test; others say only if you’re having trouble.”

Your first step for a hearing test is an audiologist. You might also need an ENT (ear, nose, and throat) specialist, otherwise known as an otolaryngologist. “If someone experiences a sudden onset of tinnitus associated with a loss of balance or headaches, then a more extensive evaluation, including an MRI scan and referral to an ENT, may be needed,” Norman says.

Right now there are no specific tinnitus surgeries or medications. “It’s important to remember that while there is no cure, there is relief,” Vernon says.

Coping methods
First, there’s masking the noise. “There is a very simple at-home test to see if masking will help. Go into the kitchen and turn the faucet on high. If you no longer hear the sound that was bothering you, masking will likely be effective,” Vernon says.