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What is tinnitus pitch matching?
Tinnitus pitch matching, also called frequency matching, means finding the external tone that sounds most like your tinnitus. Clinics do it with a two-alternative procedure; apps do it with sliders. The matched pitch is then used to choose sounds or to centre experimental approaches such as notched noise. Here is what that can and cannot do. To try it yourself at a low level, use the guided tinnitus frequency finder.
Last reviewed 28 August 2026 · Updated 22 September 2026 · Sources listed below · Not medical advice
How matching is done
You compare tones and say which is closer, narrowing down step by step, then check an octave above and below. Self-administered matching with a slider agrees with the clinic within half an octave about 70% of the time; an automated two-interval method on a music player was as reliable as the conventional procedure and easier for participants.
Because tinnitus pitch can vary from one attempt to the next, repeating the match and keeping the middle value gives a more stable estimate than a single attempt. Find My Tinnitus Sound offers this as an optional step: one match is enough to continue; if you choose to match twice more, the pitch number is hidden during the repeats so each attempt starts fresh, and the three results are combined by keeping the middle one. The octave check stays part of every attempt.
What people do with the matched frequency
- Choose masking sounds with energy near the region — the simplest, safest use.
- Notched sound — broadband noise or music with a gap around the pitch. Trials of "tailor-made notched music" are mixed: one large randomised trial found no advantage over placebo on its main outcome, a later one found it comparable to an established therapy. Notch width did not matter. Find My Quiet Sound includes an experimental Personalized Notched Sound mode, labelled with this mixed evidence, and you can also paint a dip yourself in Frequency Painting.
- Residual inhibition — a temporary quieting of tinnitus after a sound stops. Well documented, short-lived, and more likely with sounds near the tinnitus pitch; small studies found amplitude-modulated tones produced more of it than plain noise. Find My Quiet Sound’s Sound Response lets you observe whether this happens for you, at a comfortable level, and records what you notice — it is an observation tool, not a treatment.
- "Neuromodulation" tone patterns sold by some apps — a controlled trial was inconclusive.
What matching cannot do
It does not identify the cause of tinnitus, does not replace a hearing test, and does not by itself change the tinnitus. Find My Quiet Sound keeps tone levels low and labels the tool as exploratory. For what the number means and typical ranges, see what tinnitus frequency means; to sweep a tone by hand, use the tinnitus frequency generator.
Sources
- Self-administered tinnitus pitch matching versus a conventional audiometric procedure (2017)
- Evaluation of iPod-based automated tinnitus pitch matching (2015)
- Clinical trial on tonal tinnitus with tailor-made notched music training (BMC Neurology, 2016)
- Systematic review of sound stimulation to elicit tinnitus residual inhibition (ASHA Evidence Maps)
- AAO-HNSF Clinical Practice Guideline: Tinnitus (2014)
Important: Find My Quiet Sound is designed for sound masking, relaxation and tinnitus management support. It does not diagnose, treat or cure tinnitus and is not a substitute for professional medical care. If your tinnitus is new, in one ear only, pulsing with your heartbeat, or comes with hearing loss or dizziness, see a doctor or audiologist.
Written from the sources above by the Find My Quiet Sound project; no clinician has reviewed this page. See Research & Sources and the medical disclaimer.