Horizon Forbidden West's slew of accessibility options makes it even more approachable than its predecessor, Horizon Zero Dawn. With the game being such a massive open-world experience with lots of menus, weapons, and controls to figure out everything, it can be overwhelming for players unfamiliar with games like this. Accessibility options can also help folks that want to turn things on like auto-heal, auto-sprint, or a toggle for making climbing spots more noticeable. However, in the accessibility menu, there's a toggle for tinnitus sounds, and Horizon Forbidden West players might want to know what that means.
What are Tinnitus Sounds
So, tinnitus is when a person experiences harsh ringing in their ears. This can be associated with the pain felt after hearing a loud noise like an explosion, a gunshot, or some sort of loud buzz or alarm. Many people can have a physical reaction to hearing loud ringing noises like the examples mentioned, and players will find that tinnitus-like sounds can be heard while playing Horizon Forbidden West. Considering Aloy is fighting against mechanical monsters with lots of different types of attacks and abilities, hearing ringing noises will come with the territory. Also, most of the game is spent in combat using explosive items like traps and such, so these can also potentially give off those tinnitus sounds.
How to Turn off/on Tinnitus Sounds
To toggle the Tinnitus Sounds option in Horizon Forbidden West, players can open the main menu by pressing the Options button on their PS4/PS5 controller. Use R1 to toggle over to Horizon's Accessibility tab, and players will find the tinnitus option towards the bottom, above the Subtitles section specifically.
The option description doesn't actually say what the tinnitus sounds come from or how often they happen. Still, if any players are sensitive to ringing noises or are playing Horizon Forbidden West with a headset on, it might be best to just leave the noises off. For those playing using the speaker on the television and aren't susceptible to that kind of stuff, it should be perfectly fine to leave the tinnitus sounds on like normal.
Since there's no telling exactly when the tinnitus sounds occur in-game, players should be careful about blasting the volume while they're playing.
Horizon Forbidden West is now available for PS4 and PS5.
Source: Mayo Clinic
