Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am is bringing attention to hearing loss and tinnitus by telling his side of the disease. Tinnitus is more commonly known as “ringing in the ears,” and has been known to sound as a hissing, ringing or buzzing sound.
It is estimated that over 50 million people in the United States experience this phenomenon that is currently untreatable. Something that people often overlook with Tinnitus is that the ringing is a symptom and not a disease. The sounds are telling you that something else is going on with the ear, such as a disease, infection or hearing loss.
Many artists, like will.i.am, experience tinnitus due to the loud nature of their profession. Noise induced hearing loss can often be directly associated with the ringing sounds. You may have experienced this sensation for a short time following a concert or wearing your MP3 player at a high decibel level. It’s important to work on preventing loud exposure by wearing earplugs, or utilizing sound reducing headphones to keep the decibel level down. Our doctors also reccomend giving your ears sound breaks in between loud activities to give them time to rest.