The ENT consultation is ₹500, which covers the ear examination and the clinical assessment. Audiometry (PTA), which is usually needed for tinnitus, is ₹1500. If ear wax needs removing, that is ₹500 for one side and ₹800 for both. Follow-up after 3 days is chargeable.

Sometimes, when it has a reversible cause such as impacted ear wax, an ear infection or fluid behind the eardrum. When it is associated with nerve-related hearing loss it usually cannot be switched off entirely, but its impact can be reduced considerably — often substantially so once any associated hearing loss is treated.

Tinnitus does not actually get louder at night; the background noise around you drops, so there is less for your brain to attend to and the internal sound becomes more noticeable. This is why sound enrichment at bedtime, such as a fan or low background audio, helps many people sleep.

Tinnitus confined to one ear is assessed more carefully than the common both-sided kind, because a smaller number of one-sided cases have a specific underlying cause worth identifying. It is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to get examined rather than wait.

Yes, and this is one of the more satisfying findings because it is entirely reversible. Impacted wax pressing against the eardrum commonly produces ringing along with a blocked feeling and muffled hearing, and clearing it resolves the sound.

For people whose tinnitus comes with hearing loss, often yes. Amplifying the sounds you have been missing gives the brain external input to focus on, and many patients report the ringing becomes markedly less intrusive. Whether this applies to you depends on your audiogram.