Can one prove the existence of tinnitus?
There are certain very forms of tinnitus based on vascular anomalies, where tinnitus can be picked up with a microphone and actually can be made audible for others. This microphone test is usually part of the diagnostic procedure for acute tinnitus. Otherwise, the answer is no. As outline above, one can often suspect from the audiogram where someones tinnitus frequency is, but not if someone actually has tinnitus or not. Many people with hearing loss do not have tinnitus. Unfortunately, there is no way to make your tinnitus audible for others. Tinnitus is impairment, which only you can experience. Sadly enough, this leads to a lack of understanding of the environment and very often puts extra strain on partner relationships.
