Sufferers of ringing in the ears will probably be familiar with today's term, a doctor word used to describe ringing or any other persistent noise arising in the ears that is audible only to the person affected and is often of unknown origin. Tinnitus is a Latin derivative, from an imitative verb that meant "ring" It's related to the rather grand word tintinnabulation, which designates the ringing, jingling, or tinkling of bells.