FOCUS: Music, conversation and shared experience… Ending the silence on tinnitus

Tinnitus is not a disease, but a condition that an estimated 740 million people worldwide can attest to.

Its specific causes are unclear, and one person’s experience of it may differ dramatically from another’s.

There are, however, common themes: people living with tinnitus often describe a sense of imbalance and off-centeredness; a loss of control.

What is tinnitus?

“Tinnitus noises” can be heard in just one ear or both, and display themselves in forms that include ringing, buzzing, humming and whooshing.

The extent of its effect on people – approximately 1 in 7 of us – is a sliding scale.

For some it can be debilitating, for others only a temporary inconvenience.

To help raise awareness for Tinnitus Week 2026, Islanders spoke to Express to offer their perspective.

Matthew Vellam – director of the Hearing Healthcare Centre in St Lawrence – observed that tinnitus was “particularly challenging” because “no two experiences are the same”.

“One person may only notice it in a quiet room at night – another may hear it constantly, even in busy environments, making concentration, sleep, and conversation difficult.”

Increased risk of dementia

Leaving it “unchecked”, he suggested, can worsen our mental health and create a “vicious cycle where stress worsens tinnitus, and tinnitus worsens stress”.

This vicious cycle, it seems, can lead to unforeseeable consequences for our health.

According to a study in Taiwan, “pre-existing tinnitus” is even associated with a 68% increased risk of young-onset dementia.

Speaking on behalf of Dementia Jersey, Dr Sian Wareing-Jones said addressing tinnitus was “crucial for brain health”, but cautioned against reading too far into the “complex” relationship identified by the research.

She explained that “any significant hearing loss” contains a “risk factor for dementia”, though emphasised that “tinnitus does not directly cause” the neurological condition.

Directing islanders to her charity’s ‘Boost Your Brain’ campaign, the doctor advocated the “benefits of life-style changes to promote brain health”.

Information about tinnitus supplied to Express by the Jersey Audiology department further highlighted the importance of maintaining a “healthy lifestyle balance.”

It states: “Exercise, eat well and apply strategies to reduce stress – deep breathing or yoga or mindfulness may help to clear your mindset.

“Incorporate strategies to improve your sleep, such as a regular bedtime routine and reducing your caffeine intake.

“Total silence can sometimes exacerbate tinnitus – listening to music, at a low volume or using sound therapy can alleviate tinnitus.”

For people with tinnitus it suggests hearings aids as a “helpful” option.

“They can allow access to the environmental sounds and conversational speech, therefore, making the surroundings less quiet.

“Access to speech sounds improves the clarity of conversation. This results in less hearing fatigue, less anxiety and a reduction in social isolation.”

Pat’s story

One islander with a clear picture of how isolating tinnitus can be is Hospital Chaplain and Lay-Minister for the Ddeaf community in Jersey, Patricia Ann Bougeard.

Pat told Express that she has had “tinnitus for decades”.

She explained: “As a child I remember hearing a piercing loud high-pitched note which I thought was coming from somewhere, I was in the garden at home.

“I remember covering my ears with my hands and crying, running indoors to find my parents but when I did, they said there was no sound.

“I think they were as confused as I was.

“Several times a week, especially when I was in bed ready to sleep or in the classroom at school, I would hear high notes, or a train whistle or generally buzzing like white noise – it was always in a quiet, silent situation. 

“Sometimes it would give me a headache and I would feel sick but no-one understood and wouldn’t believe me because no-one else could hear it – only me.

“After a bit of time I stopped telling people about it as no-one believed me, until I was around 17ish and suddenly an audiologist said yes, that’s sound only you can hear and its called tinnitus.”

For Pat, it was this simple moment of recognition that led to a deep shift in how she perceived the strange sound in her ears.

“I was relieved I wasn’t imagining it and it was a real thing, and then I found out how I could manage it.

“Then, when people asked me either in hospital or churches – or life in general – I could reassure them they are not going mad and it is a real thing, and could tell them my experience (and) how I manage it.”

She described how “now, as an adult, I can deal with it better by listening to music, meditation and other things”.

The power of music

Enjoying a good tune is a frequent go-to for people with tinnitus, and Tinnitus Week 2026 (2-9 February) highlights the crucial relationship between hearing wellness and live music.

To get more clarity, we spoke to Thibault Blanchard – French cellist and Development and Operations Manager at Jersey charity Music in Action. 

The charity, he told me, run workshops in schools and care homes along with tailored hearing impaired workshops all across the island. 

He said the charity looks to “recognise the close relationship between music, wellbeing and hearing health.”

Thibault added: “While music has the power to inspire, comfort and connect communities, the charity is also mindful of conditions such as tinnitus, which affect many listeners and professional musicians alike.

“Through carefully curated performances, education, and outreach work, Music in Action promotes positive musical experiences that support emotional wellbeing while encouraging awareness of safe listening and long-term auditory health.”

Many with tinnitus, though, naturally worry that the noisier dynamics of a live music experience might rule them out of enjoying a show at the end of the week. 

But Tomasz, who runs the Blue Note Bar in St Helier, said this couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Over the last couple of years musicians and the public are much more aware of the hidden dangers that prolonged exposure to live music can bring them”, he told Bailiwick Express.

“We see a lot of musicians using custom made ear plugs, or generally just ear plugs.

“For a jazz or blues night might it might not be as necessary, but for some of the bands – especially the louder ones – I would definitely recommend.

“Some bands actually bring some big boxes of disposable ear plugs; if anyone wants it they are welcome to have it.”

Another option for fans of the cut-and-thrust of live music are “non-disposable ear plugs” that block out potentially damaging frequencies.

Tomasz has been running the Blue Note with his partner for over eight years and said he “can’t imagine what it’s like not having them when listening to live music.”

“The ones we tend to use, we found a brand that block out high and lower frequencies, which means that you can just about hear people talking in mid-range, but everything else is pretty much blocked out.

“It’s not electrical or anything”, he clarified, “it’s just physics”.

But for Tomasz the experience of live music isn’t just about our ears.

“It’s great to be aware of hidden dangers”, he reiterated, “but also this shouldn’t be stopping people from attending.

“You experience live music pretty much with your body, not just hearing, you can hear the beat or rhythm section in your chest area, it’s an experience like no other.”

Despite the popular perception of it as a hurdle to a good time, the message on tinnitus from across the island, then, continues to an essentially hopeful one.