Magnetic excitations and interactions in the Kitaev hyperhoneycomb iridate <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>β</mml:mi><mml:mtext>−</mml:mtext><mml:msub><mml:mi>Li</mml:mi><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub><mml:msub><mml:mi>IrO</mml:mi><mml:mn>3</mml:mn></mml:msu

We present a thorough experimental study of the three-dimensional hyperhoneycomb Kitaev magnet $\beta$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$, using a combination of inelastic neutron scattering (INS), time-domain THz spectroscopy, and heat capacity measurements. The main results include a massive low-temperature reorganization of the INS spectral weight that evolves into a broad peak centered around 12 meV, and a distinctive peak in the THz data at 2.8(1) meV. A detailed comparison to powder-averaged spin-wave theory calculations reveals that the positions of these two features are controlled by the anisotropic $\Gamma$ coupling and the Heisenberg exchange $J$, respectively. The refined microscopic spin model places $\beta$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ in close proximity to the Kitaev spin liquid phase.