Tinnitus Assessment in Swansea

Tinnitus is the perception of sound — ringing, buzzing, hissing, hum — that has no external source. It is not a disease in itself; it is a symptom of how the auditory system is processing.

BestHear offers private tinnitus assessment to characterise what is happening, identify any underlying hearing change, and outline the management options that have an evidence base.

Why Tinnitus Deserves a Proper Assessment

Most patients with tinnitus have been told to “live with it” — sometimes by a GP, sometimes by an audiologist who only checked thresholds and saw nothing dramatic.

That answer is incomplete. Tinnitus often coincides with a high-frequency hearing dip the patient has not noticed, with hidden hearing loss, with auditory processing changes, or with a treatable middle-ear issue. Until the system has been assessed properly, “live with it” is a guess, not a diagnosis.

What’s Included in a Tinnitus Assessment

  • Full diagnostic hearing assessment — pure tone audiometry with insert earphones, tympanometry, speech audiometry, otoscopy. The audiogram extended into the high frequencies where tinnitus changes most often hide.
  • Tinnitus characterisation — pitch matching, loudness matching where appropriate, identifying the laterality and consistency of the perception
  • Tinnitus questionnaire — a validated tool to capture the impact on sleep, mood, concentration, and quality of life
  • A written report with findings, likely contributing factors, and the management options worth considering

Duration: 60 minutes  |  Fee: £150 (includes the written report)

Management Options That Have an Evidence Base

There is no single cure for tinnitus. There are several approaches that work, in combination, for most patients who are willing to give them time:

  • Hearing aid fitting where there is co-existing hearing loss — by far the most reliable single intervention. Restoring the missing input often reduces the prominence of the tinnitus signal.
  • Sound enrichment / sound therapy — environmental sound or wearable devices to break the silence the brain otherwise fills with tinnitus
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for tinnitus — well-evidenced for the distress component
  • Lifestyle factors — sleep, caffeine, stress, noise exposure history; usually small individual effects, often meaningful in combination
  • Onward referral where indicated — ENT for asymmetric or pulsatile tinnitus, GP for medication review, mental health support where the impact warrants

When Tinnitus Needs an Urgent Look

Most tinnitus is benign. A small minority warrants prompt onward investigation. Speak to a GP or NHS 111 the same day if any of the following apply:

  • Tinnitus that is only in one ear with sudden onset
  • Tinnitus that is pulsatile — beats in time with your heartbeat
  • Tinnitus accompanied by sudden hearing loss, vertigo, or facial weakness
  • Tinnitus following a head injury

If you are not sure whether your situation falls into one of these categories, call BestHear and we will tell you whether to come to us or be seen by NHS triage first.

How to Book

  1. Book online or call 01792 940032
  2. Attend the assessment at BestHear, Swansea — 60 minutes
  3. Leave with a written report and a clear management plan

Frequently Asked Questions

No clinic can. There is no universal cure for tinnitus. What a proper assessment can do is identify what is contributing to it in your case, and put together a plan that has an evidence base for reducing its impact. Most patients who follow through report a meaningful improvement.

Tinnitus often sits in or near a frequency range where hearing has dropped. Restoring the missing input through well-fitted hearing aids — particularly through the Heareka™ methodology — frequently reduces how prominent the tinnitus signal feels.

Standard audiograms test up to 8 kHz. Tinnitus often correlates with changes above that, or with hidden hearing loss that does not show as a threshold change. The BestHear assessment looks beyond a basic audiogram.

Not necessarily. You can book directly. If your tinnitus has any of the urgent-look features above, please contact NHS 111 or your GP first. For non-urgent tinnitus, BestHear is a sensible direct route.

Tinnitus assessment in children needs a paediatric pathway and is usually best initiated through GP / NHS specialist services. Speak to BestHear before booking and we will help you find the right route.