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Video length: 3 min
Health: the cause of tinnitus is still unknown
Nearly 10 million French people suffer from tinnitus. It’s these whistling sounds, these buzzing sounds that we hear all the time and that drive you crazy. The average age of onset is around 47 years. It is often too much exposure to noise that causes them. But in almost 40% of cases, the cause of tinnitus is unknown.
(France 2)
Nearly 10 million French people suffer from tinnitus. It’s these whistling sounds, these buzzing sounds that we hear all the time and that drive you crazy. The average age of onset is around 47 years. It is often too much exposure to noise that causes them. But in almost 40% of cases, the cause of tinnitus is unknown.
Regardless of where he is, Jean-Pierre Abita, a 52-year-old teacher, hears a whirring sound as soon as he wakes up. The first time was three years ago. He suffers from tinnitus, he hears a noise that doesn’t exist. A hearing dysfunction that we cannot cure. “I could no longer watch TV or read or use the computer, it’s a tide that fills the brain”he explains. “The only thing that relieves me is the bath”, he adds.
An ongoing study on tinnitus
At the age of 32, Antoine Gaudois was fitted with a hearing aid to eliminate the sound he describes as that of a radio tuned to the wrong frequency. Added to this is hyperacusis, that is to say a greater sensitivity to sounds. His device filters their intensity. Most tinnitus sufferers also need psychological support. The Georges Pompidou Hospital and the Brain Institute are also conducting a study to determine the origin of this dysfunction.
