It’s Tinnitus Awareness Month. Researcher Fatima Husain is here to answer your questions about the science behind the condition.

Throughout her career, Fatima Husain has focused on auditory, speech and language processing in the brain using neuroimaging (e.g., functional MRI) and computational modeling techniques.

She recently expanded her research to include the study of disorders typically associated with hearing loss, such as tinnitus.

What do most people not know about tinnitus?

FH: There is no test to determine when someone has tinnitus. We ask them questions and they answer and that’s how we know when someone has tinnitus.

How can tinnitus present in different ways for different people?

FH: Apart from the sound or sounds you hear as part of tinnitus, when you hear it differs and the psychological impact it has on you differs. The great majority show resilience to having persistent or chronic tinnitus, they adapt to having it and go on to live good quality lives.

What should someone do if they suspect they may have tinnitus?

FH: They can talk to a primary care specialist, an ENT or an audiologist.

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Contact Fatima Husain at [email protected]

Media contact: Jenna Kurtzweil, [email protected]