When to see a doctor

This app is about living well alongside tinnitus. It is not a doctor, and some situations call for one. This lesson is the honest checklist.

See a doctor promptly if

• Your tinnitus is new — a first evaluation is always worth it, if only for peace of mind.

• It's in one ear only, or sounds distinctly different between ears.

• It pulses in time with your heartbeat.

• It arrived with hearing loss, dizziness, vertigo, ear pain, or discharge.

• It started right after a head or neck injury, or after starting a new medication.

None of these automatically mean something serious — one-sided causes are often as simple as earwax. But they're the signs a professional should look at rather than an app.

What an appointment looks like

Typically: a conversation, a look in your ears, and often a hearing test with an audiologist. Bringing notes helps — when it started, what it sounds like, what makes it better or worse. Your exported data can help you answer the "how much does it affect you" questions concretely.

And if you're struggling

If the hard part right now is not your ears but your state of mind — if it feels unbearable — that also deserves a person, not an app. The support resources in Settings are always there, always free.

For everything else — the ordinary, maddening, both-ears ringing that a doctor has already looked at — that's what the rest of this app is for.

Content is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. See a doctor promptly if your tinnitus is new, in one ear only, pulsing, or accompanied by hearing loss, dizziness, or pain.