Tinnitus is a phantom auditory event with multiple causes

Evidence

“You’ve heard of the phantom-limb effect,” he says, “this is the same thing.” In other words, the brain, knowing it cannot rely on the implants, invents what it longs to hear. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 324 (#expands, via linked claim)

Called tinnitus, this annoying internal noise is like a “sunburn” of the nerve cells of your inner ear, indicating that they have been irritated and overworked. — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1695 (#expands, via linked claim)

In other words, a decrease in audible sound due to increasing deafness prompts the brain first to amplify, then generate data to palliate this apparent lack. — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 331 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Tinnitus arises without an external acoustic source, likely from central nervous system mechanisms.; Tinnitus affects 5-10 percent of people with CNS mechanisms largely unknown; Tinnitus persists audibly even amid loud scanner noise. (+7 more)

Related

• Tinnitus arises without an external acoustic source, likely from central nervous system mechanisms. (similarity 0.94)
• Tinnitus signals damaged inner-ear nerve cells (similarity 0.89)
• Tinnitus persists audibly even amid loud scanner noise. (similarity 0.86)
• Tinnitus arises when the cochlea spontaneously generates its own noise (similarity 0.86)
• Hearing loss causes the brain to amplify then fabricate sound as tinnitus (similarity 0.84)
• Reduced auditory input causes the brain to amplify internal neural noise (similarity 0.84)
• Tinnitus affects 5-10 percent of people with CNS mechanisms largely unknown (similarity 0.84)
• Tinnitus can arise from unstable outer hair cell oscillation in the cochlea (similarity 0.83)
• Loud noise damage can make the cochlea spontaneously generate its own noise (similarity 0.82)
• The brain fabricates phantom sound when expected sensory input is absent (similarity 0.81)
• Tinnitus pitch spans the entire region of hearing loss, not a single frequency (similarity 0.81)
• Tinnitus affects 5-10 percent of the population yet its causes remain largely unknown (similarity 0.80)
• Low-frequency sound can awaken silent inner ears to emit spontaneous tones (similarity 0.79)
• Tinnitus involves central nervous system mechanisms and remains poorly understood (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The brain fabricates phantom sound when expected sensory input is absent #expands (0.88) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 324
• Tinnitus signals damaged inner-ear nerve cells #expands (0.85) — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1695
• Hearing loss causes the brain to amplify then fabricate sound as tinnitus #expands (0.82) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 331
• Sounds heard only in total silence are not classified as tinnitus #qualifies (0.78) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 572
• Tinnitus arises when the cochlea spontaneously generates its own noise #qualifies (0.75) — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 664
• The ear generates phantom low tones absent from the actual signal #exemplifies (0.75)
• Tinnitus after exposure signals damage even below the 85 dB threshold #exemplifies (0.72)