hello and welcome to HCM, The development of tinnitus or the sound in the ear is usually not a good sign especially if you already have hearing loss and are using hearing aids (like in the case of your father). In your case also it is not a good sign. It may indicate a further worsening of hearing or weakening of the nerves or sometimes may even happen in case of an infection causing block in the Eustachian tubes of your ears. In any case the ENT may do a full examination of the ears and order an audiometry so that a better picture of the nature of the tinnitus may be ascertained. He may also ask for an imaging study if needed. You may ask him to also rule out any neurological/ ortho problems Finally you may ask him about this new prostagladin analogue called the TINNICAR which i have found a fair amount of success in treating essential tinnitus. If your cause of tinnitus is a conductive and treatable problem then you have a chance that the sound may disappear. But this differs from person to person. Whatever treatment you receive, you may need to get regular audiometry every six months. Also do not bother much about the sound and try to reduce your stress by doing meditation or yoga. take care and hope you recover Dr Sriram Nathan