How to Find Your Tinnitus Frequency

Why Your Frequency Matters

Notched sound therapy works by removing a specific frequency from the sound you listen to. If that frequency doesn't match your tinnitus, the therapy is less effective. Getting an accurate match is the single most important step.

Most tinnitus falls between 4,000 and 8,000 Hz — the high-pitched range where noise-induced hearing loss is most common. But your tinnitus could be anywhere from 1,000 to 12,000 Hz, and the difference between 5,000 Hz and 6,000 Hz matters for therapy.

Method 1: Guided Frequency Sweep (Easiest)

A frequency sweep plays a tone that slowly rises from low to high. When the tone blends with your tinnitus — so they sound like one — you've found your match.

How to do it:

1. Put on headphones in a quiet room
2. Start with the volume low — you want the sweep tone to be similar in volume to your tinnitus, not louder
3. Listen as the tone rises
4. When the sweep tone seems to "merge" with your tinnitus — like they become one sound — that's your frequency
5. Mark it and repeat 2-3 times to confirm

Tip: If you hear tinnitus in both ears at different pitches, match each ear separately. Cover one ear at a time if needed.

Tinnitus Saurus has a built-in Tuning Wizard that automates this process. It sweeps from 1,000 to 12,000 Hz and lets you tap to freeze the tone when you hear a match.

Method 2: Manual Slider

Some people prefer to hunt for the frequency themselves rather than waiting for a sweep. With a manual approach:

1. Start a tone at 4,000 Hz (the most common tinnitus range)
2. Slowly move the slider up and down
3. Listen for when the external tone and your tinnitus blend together
4. Fine-tune in small increments (even 10-50 Hz adjustments can make a difference)

Method 3: Professional Audiometric Matching

An audiologist can match your tinnitus frequency using calibrated equipment in a sound-treated room. This is the most accurate method and also rules out underlying conditions.

If you have access to an audiologist, getting a professional match and then entering it into your therapy app is the gold standard. But research has shown that self-matching at home produces results that are accurate enough for effective notched therapy.

Different Pitch in Each Ear?

Bilateral tinnitus — hearing different pitches in each ear — is common. If your left ear rings at 5,000 Hz and your right at 3,500 Hz, you need independent frequency matching for each ear.

Most tinnitus apps apply a single notch to both ears, which only works well if both ears have the same pitch. Tinnitus Saurus lets you set independent frequencies and applies a separate notch filter to each channel.

How Accurate Does the Match Need to Be?

Within a few hundred Hz is generally sufficient. The notch filter used in therapy has a width (typically half an octave to one octave), so it removes a band of frequencies around your match — not just a single point. A match that's off by 200 Hz is still within the notch.

That said, the closer the better. Re-matching periodically is a good practice, especially if your tinnitus perception changes over time.

What to Do After You Find Your Frequency

Once you have your match, use it to configure notched sound therapy:

1. Set your notch filter to your matched frequency
2. Listen to notched noise or notched music for 1-2 hours daily for best results
3. Keep the volume comfortable — never try to drown out your tinnitus
4. Track your sessions and how you feel over weeks and months

Consistency matters more than perfection. The research protocols that showed results used daily listening over 3-12 months.