Any Effective Tinnitus Therapies?

[Willers]

I've noticed that my tinnitus has gotten significantly worse over the last couple of years. Do any of you also suffer from this? Are there any treatments you've found effective at all?

Thanks for any information or treatments you can suggest!

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I've had it for years. I don't even really recall when it started. It is persistently there, but I have grown to ignore it for the most part. The last time I checked in with my PCP on the topic, he said they really don't have any recommended treatments for it. But I've never gone to an ENT specialist to discuss it.

Part of me thinks it's related to the Bell's Palsy that I had in that same side of my face 18 years ago or so.

 

[check6]

I've had it for years. I don't even really recall when it started. It is persistently there, but I have grown to ignore it for the most part. The last time I checked in with my PCP on the topic, he said they really don't have any recommended treatments for it. But I've never gone to an ENT specialist to discuss it.

+1 Exactly the same for me.

 

[FREE866]

I have whats called pulsatile tinnitus which is not tinnitus , but is a rhythmic "whooshing " sound of my heartbeat in my right ear.



Was diagnosed years ago and they never found the cause, which is fairly common unfortunately. I sleep with a white noise machine.



I meditate daily, exercise, etc Seems to help my mental state so I don't obsess and go crazy.

 

[RunningBum]

Another +1 on the ignore. I thought it was a very unsympathetic suggestions when I first heard it, but if there's nothing else I can do about it, it's the only choice to not be driven crazy.

I don't remember how many years I've had it but something must've made it louder a few years ago because one evening I was convinced something in the refrigerator or furnace or TV must be making that noise. It wasn't until I realized it didn't get louder or softer as I moved about the house and then put my hands over my ears that I realized it wasn't an external noise. I think one of my meds made it worse and I stopped that one but I still have it at times.

A family member was told hearing aids could help but they didn't for them.

 

[MRG]

Low dose of metropolol fixed mine.

 

[Kings over Queens]

I have it in my left ear.

I find that managing nasal, and thus ear congestion, helps.

When I'm really stuffed up it's much worse than if I've used nasal spray.

 

[O2Bfree]

I have whats called pulsatile tinnitus which is not tinnitus , but is a rhythmic "whooshing " sound of my heartbeat in my right ear.

Was diagnosed years ago and they never found the cause, which is fairly common unfortunately. I sleep with a white noise machine.

I meditate daily, exercise, etc Seems to help my mental state so I don't obsess and go crazy.

Same here. I had an MRI once, but nothing was found. I've had some bad inner-ear infections over the years and have a little hearing loss in that ear, which probably helped set off the tinnitus.

When I'm noticing the sound, I just consider it as part of the soundscape, like the fridge running or the sound of distant traffic.

 

[GenXguy]

Most people have mild tinnitus, so those are the ones that can ignore it and suggest that. That's how mine used to be for many years until worsening by a level a magnitude, unmaskable variable and cycling in and out, ringing, buzzing, squealing, hissing, humming, different in each ear, different sounds different days, variable high frequencies, mid frequency, and modulated low frequencies, along with hyperacusis and TTTS fluttering/thumps. That changes everything over your typical tinnitus experience. White noise machines won't touch this array of sounds.

Severe tinnitus that you hear over everything cannot be ignored. You may need antianxiety meds, antidepressants, and sleep meds to function.

So many people are so desperate about severe and catastrophic tinnitus and hyperacusis that they waste a lot of time and money on things like various primary care doctors, various ENT's, neurologists, audiologists, acupuncture, Lenire, supplements, vitamins, strange diets/fasting, various drugs, LLLT, HBOT, CBT, TRT, rTMS, stem cells, in-ear hearing aids/maskers, etc. hoping something will actually work or give a placebo effect. The Shore / Auricle device may be out within a couple years which shows some promise for partial reduction in tinnitus intensity.

See this previous thread on the topic:

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/tinnitus-help-116779.html

 

[marko]

I've had serious tinnitus over the years. Thirty years ago, after having lost ALL hearing in one ear and after countless tests including a head MRI, I went to an acupuncturist.

Twelve hours later, at 3am, a "pop" woke me up and I could hear again. It does return mildly from time to time, but a regular acupuncture visit tends to keep it in check.

 

[RunningBum]

Most people have mild tinnitus, so those are the ones that can ignore it and suggest that. ...

Severe tinnitus that you hear over everything cannot be ignored. You may need antianxiety meds, antidepressants, and sleep meds to function.

FYI, I'm watching 4 football games on 4 TVs right now, with sound on at normal level on one and lower on another. The loudest noise is the high pitched whine of tinnitus. It took some doing but I've learned to mentally filter it out. It's impossible to say just how bad my tinnitus is compared to you or the OP or anyone else, but I'm pretty certain it's not mild.

I'm not going to say that no one needs meds for this, but I say one should try to put it out of their mind before starting meds that may have other side effects.

 

[GenXguy]

FYI, I'm watching 4 football games on 4 TVs right now, with sound on at normal level on one and lower on another. The loudest noise is the high pitched whine of tinnitus. It took some doing but I've learned to mentally filter it out. It's impossible to say just how bad my tinnitus is compared to you or the OP or anyone else, but I'm pretty certain it's not mild.

I'm not going to say that no one needs meds for this, but I say one should try to put it out of their mind before starting meds that may have other side effects.

It's not just the loudness of the tinnitus, but then also the variation of the different sounds and tones which change as I mentioned in my previous post. A single loud tone would be easier to tune out than sounds changing constantly in both short term (seconds) and long term (hours/days) intervals. Some people have reported up to 14 different sounds. Then add hyperacusis / noxacusis and TTTS on top of that, which are more common in severe cases of tinnitus.

I basically ignored mine for over 20 years, but there is a threshold of various sounds and such along with hyperacusis that it becomes impossible.

I might be in pain with 4 TVs turned up to normal volume for football games. Glad you're not doing that.

 

[RunningBum]

I might be in pain with 4 TVs turned up to normal volume for football games.

Which isn't what I'm doing as I was pretty clear about.

 

[kingkarmann]

I ruined my hearing from excessive noise exposure.
Tinnitus is one symptom that I have lived with since.
Alcohol is said to make tinnitus worse.
Right now my head is really squealing!

 

[Flyfish1]

Go to a reputable ENT if your tinnitus has changed or worsened.
Retired ENT and I took care of thousands of people with tinnitus.
I obviously can't give medical advice but an exam an audiogram and further work up if indicated are the basics.Beyond that there are Neurotologists if you have a very challenging issue. There are also Audiologists trained in tinnitus retraining therapy approaches.
No magic bullet...yet.

 

[Sunset]

Low dose of metropolol fixed mine.

By fixed you mean you don't take the metropolol anymore ? Or it manages/suppresses it as long as you take it ?

 

[Sunset]

I find I just automatically can ignore mine, most of the time. Maybe it really just goes away and I think that is the effect of ignoring it ?

Whenever I read a thread like this , it is suddenly there a high pitched whine.

Do totally deaf people get/have tinnitus ?

 

[MRG]

By fixed you mean you don't take the metropolol anymore ? Or it manages/suppresses it as long as you take it ?

Manages and suppress it.

 

[Retired Expat]

I've had it for years. I don't even really recall when it started. It is persistently there, but I have grown to ignore it for the most part. The last time I checked in with my PCP on the topic, he said they really don't have any recommended treatments for it. But I've never gone to an ENT specialist to discuss it.

Part of me thinks it's related to the Bell's Palsy that I had in that same side of my face 18 years ago or so.

Go to your ENT and get a hearing test. Mine had gotten quite bad in the higher pitches and it turned out I really needed a hearing aid. Once I started to wear them every day my tinnitus improved markedly.

 

[ShadowBloom]

There are lots of sound mixes on youtube to block the noise. For what it's worth, I find that after I listen to this one for a while the noise in my ear/in my head stays much lower for quite some time.

 

[donheff]

There we go again! I have had tinnitus for decades. I ignore it and don't tend to notice it until someone mentions the word. Then blammo, full blast.

Right now, the ringing is so intense that, if it was happening for the first time, I would be very alarmed. But, if I can just find another thread to get immersed in, it will disappear until the next guy brings it up.

 

[GenXguy]

There are lots of sound mixes on youtube to block the noise. For what it's worth, I find that after I listen to this one for a while the noise in my ear/in my head stays much lower for quite some time.

Residual inhibition. To me it's just part of attempting to mask it. I'm unable to fully mask mine because it is pretty loud with multiple sounds, but residual inhibition fades out over about 20 seconds for me after the external sound stops, and the tinnitus level is right back where it started.

Be careful about ENT and audiologists. Some of those tests can make your hearing, tinnitus, hyperacusis, or noxacusis worse. You can spend thousands on ineffective tinnitus retraining therapy which is just sound enrichment (white noise) along with counseling. I haven't seen much favorable feedback on that in the community.

Usually an ENT will run some expensive and potentially damaging tests o your and then just tell you there's no cure for tinnitus and tell you to try melatonin and Lipoflavonoids, which of course, don't help at all. Anyway, check out the tinnitustalk forum for more specialized advise from the community of sufferers.

 

[O2Bfree]

I've had serious tinnitus over the years. Thirty years ago, after having lost ALL hearing in one ear and after countless tests including a head MRI, I went to an acupuncturist.

Twelve hours later, at 3am, a "pop" woke me up and I could hear again. It does return mildly from time to time, but a regular acupuncture visit tends to keep it in check.

Wow, that's like a miracle! When I was a little girl, an ear infection left me with diminshed hearing. Dad took me to a doctor, who gently blew some air up my nose and—pop!—my hearing was back to normal. It was so startling that I almost started crying.

 

[check6]

There we go again! I have had tinnitus for decades. I ignore it and don't tend to notice it until someone mentions the word. Then blammo, full blast.

Right now, the ringing is so intense that, if it was happening for the first time, I would be very alarmed. But, if I can just find another thread to get immersed in, it will disappear until the next guy brings it up.

Isn't that the truth. Haven't noticed it all day until there was a link to this thread and I foolishly opened it. I can hear the hissing now.

 

[GenXguy]

Which isn't what I'm doing as I was pretty clear about.

I updated my post.