Tinnitus Help - Stop the Ringing in Your Ears

Teens develop a 60-second cure for noise-induced tinnitus. Two Irish physics students have invented sound therapy for temporary tinnitus. Awarded runner-up prizes at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition this year, their project for the exhibition was to test their sound therapy (a 60-second low frequency tone administered through head phones) on 250 subjects who were experiencing temporary tinnitus. The therapy had a 99 percent success rate. Temporary noise-induced tinnitus is a type of tinnitus that is caused by exposure to loud noises. It usually goes away on its own within a few hours or days. The loud noise causes damage to the inner ear and causes a ringing, buzzing, or hissing sound in the ear. Since it goes away anyway by itself, what's the big deal about this sound therapy? It takes a much shorter time to alleviate symptoms -- and it may point to a "cure" for long-term sufferers. One of the inventors says: "After coming out of discos or listenin...

Australian researchers think that some forms of tinnitus can be successfully treated if action is taken immediately upon diagnosis. Basically, if the overactive nerve activity associated with tinnitus is calmed before the pattern becomes established, the condition can be corrected.  Professor Don Robertson of the University of Western Australia says the nerve activity can be dampened in three ways: by surgery on the inner ear; by "cooling down" the ear; and by use of nerve-impulse blocking drugs. From the onset of increased nerve activity, it takes only about six weeks for the brain to begin making the whistling and roaring noises on its own, "independent of input from the ears." Researchers say further work was needed to find ways to exploit this potential window of opportunity. Robertson adds that "although a lot more research needs to be done at this stage, it is a very exciting prospect." Read the full article here . Try Quietum Plus

If you answer YES to 3 or more of the following questions, it may mean that you have hearing loss and should be evaluated by an audiologist : - Does your family complain that you turn the TV volume up too high? - Do you have a problem hearing on the phone? - Do you often have to ask people to repeat themselves? - Do you hear better on one ear than the other when you are on the telephone? - Do you have trouble following conversations that involve two or more people talking at the same time? - Do you have trouble understanding women and children are saying? - Do you have to strain to understand a conversation? - Does it seem to you that a lot of people mumble (or don't speak clearly)? - Do you have trouble hearing when the background is noisy? - Do you have trouble hearing in restaurants?  - Do family members or colleagues often make remarks about the fact that you missed what's just been said? - Do you ever have dizziness, pain, or ringing in your ears? - Do people get annoyed ...

An article summary called " Haemodynamic profile of young subjects with transient tinnitus" from Audiological Medicine (dated December 8, 2009) says a study shows that people (between the ages of 18 and 40) with a history of transient tinnitus seem to have smaller cardiac structural characteristics than normal,  even though their ultrasounds were normal.  It makes sense that a smaller heart or valves can't pump or circulate blood quite as forcefully as a normal sized heart can.  And this comparatively poor blood circulation affects organs adversely -- including the cochlear in the inner ear -- with its adverse effect showing up as tinnitus .  The summary concludes that the observation indirectly supports the theory of a cochlear origin of tinnitus in a number of cases and is reminiscent of what happens in hypertension and heart failure. You can read an abstract of the report  or the summary .   Try Quietum Plus

Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that tends to affect middle-aged people (between the ages 40-50), with some 600,000 people in the U.S. alone being diagnosed with the condition.  In addition to ringing in one or both ears ( tinnitus ), people with Meniere's disease also experience dizziness (vertigo), hearing loss and pressure in the affected ear(s).  If you experience any of the following symptoms , together or separately, ask your doctor if you have Meniere's disease: Sudden and repeated dizziness with loss of balance. Loss of hearing (even if it's not permanent loss). Tinnitus (sounds in your head that no one else can hear). A feeling of fullness or pressure in either ear or both ears. UPDATE: "A very-low-salt diet improves symptoms for many patients. Diuretics - water pills - also help. Surgery that shunts fluid from the inner ear is another possibility.  For more on Menieres diseases, visit the Mayo Clinic .   Try Quietum Plus

Why are noises in your head so often linked to hearing loss?  Dr. Paul Donohue in The Herald Review reminds us that although hearing loss isn't the only cause of tinnitus (trauma to the ear or ear infections and even ear wax being other oft-noted culprits), it is one condition that does prompt the onset of tinnitus .   This is because the everyday assault of background noises to which we are accustomed and which " dampens noises generated by the brain and heard as tinnitus" is lost when hearing acuity diminishes. Without that auditory input, the inner noise becomes noticeable, and a person has tinnitus. This is why it is so important for people with tinnitus to have their hearing evaluated and to try different kinds of hearing aids. If the hearing loss is corrected, then the accompanying tinnitus -- caused by the loss of hearing the dampening background noises -- will also be corrected .  Read the full article here . Try Quietum Plus

A 2009 Norwegian study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals that of 1,402 men treated for testicular cancer, 29 percent reported hearing impairment and 22 percent reported tinnitus.  These were reported  as major symptoms troubling them either quite a bit or very much from between 4 to 21 years after such cancer treatment.  Long-term issues with hearing loss and tinnitus seemed to affect those men who had received high-dose cisplatin-based chemotherapy.  Those who smoked on a daily basis were also more likely to be affected than men in the study who had never smoked.  Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, November 25, 2009. Reported by Reuters Try Quietum Plus

A reader at the USA Today Health column asked if there's a hearing aid that can filter out the miserable ringing/buzzing in his ears due to heavy tinnitus.  The answer given was thorough: first make sure you see a doctor to check for treatable problems (which range from allergies to ear wax ).  If you have hearing loss, then the sounds in your head might well be a side effect of that condition. It seems that our brains compensate for the loss of sound inputs by creating sounds of their own .  The use of a sound-amplifying hearing aid can not only help you hear better, but it might also reduce your brain's need to make its own noise.  The balance of the column talks about distraction techniques and alternative therapies and notes that although tinnitus varies from case to case, it usually does fade with time and/or becomes "less bothersome." For example, some get relief by incorporating ambient sounds such as wind chimes into their daily routine. These sounds ar...

Are there  home remedies for tinnitus that are worth a try?  In his book "The Green Pharmacy," Dr. James A. Duke, suggests  ginkgo biloba at a "50:1 ratio" helps reduce tinnitus.  However, this may only be true if your tinnitus is caused by restricted blood and oxygen flow. "Studies show that Ginkgo biloba, which is a monoamine-oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) can effectively improve patients with tinnitus caused by ischemia due to having myricetin and quercetin flavonoids and ginkgolide and bilobalide terpenoids," according to a review paper in The International Tinnitus Journal . "Ginkgo biloba has antiplatelet and vascular modulator effects. In other words, it improves blood flow and appropriately regulates vascular tone." In the "Roots of Healing" by herbalist Deb Soule, there's a recommendation for something called a black cohosh tincture while in "The Herbal Handbook" (by the British herbalist David Hoffmann) goldenseal ...

Did you know that  Barbra Streisand has tinnitus?  Apparently she's had it since childhood. She's not the only celebrity with the condition; in fact, many famous people do. While not all famous people with tinnitus are musicians, they do turn up in greater proportion than celebrities who are not musicians, and include Phil Collins, Sting and Eric Clapton .  But non-musicians like actors and talk show hosts are among the sufferers too. They include William Shatner, Cher, David Letterman and Steve Martin to name just a few.  Garrison Keillor (the American writer and former radio personality) wrote about his tinnitus, saying: Some people consider cicadas pests but I found them comforting. I suffer from tinnitus, the ringing in the ears, and the cicadas chitter in the same frequency range as my inner ear and mask the ringing very nicely . I stood in the park where they were whirring around and I felt relief. Medicine has no remedy for tinnitus. I've tried acupunct...

People with tinnitus often find that physical exercise helps their condition -- both physically and mentally.  For instance, when your heart rate speeds up during a work-out, the blood flow to your inner ears increases too. Some tinnitus suffers find this decreases the noise in their heads.  Exercise can be a safety-valve as well, used to relieve depression, frustration and rage often associated with tinnitus.  And it's not just cardio exercise that helps: The meditative and self-disciplinary aspects of yoga can alleviate stress and help you focus past the noise. Reflexology (like  massage ) is another practice that if it doesn't actually help, can't hurt to try.  With tinnitus, a normal social life can sometimes become hard to manage.  If you join a gym or exercise club, it provides you with a place to go where it's easy not to be "social". In other words, the focus is not on chatting but rather on exercising. You still get to be with a group of l...

The short answer here is yes, your job can give you tinnitus. Exposure to noise at work is a significant occupational hazard.  A study done in the UK shows that during a typical year, almost five per cent of food manufacture workers suffer from ill health caused by or made worse by work. That's more than twice the number that suffer from a reportable injury at work. One of the main causes? Hearing loss. In order to maintain your hearing, protection is necessary when working with noise levels measuring over 80 decibels. Some typical noise levels associated with common tasks in the food industry include:  - Wrapping, cutting wrap, bagging, etc: 85-95dB - Milling operations: 85-100dB - Blast chillers/freezers: 85-107dB - Packaging machinery: 85-95dB Occupational noise-induced hearing loss including tinnitus is a totally preventable condition ; however, once the damage has been done there is no way of reversing the effects.  If your company does not attempt to control noise...

For many suffering from tinnitus, this won't come as any surprise, but research published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing shows that " not enough is being done to support patients " even though "as many as one in seven people will experience tinnitus, or ringing in their ears, at some time of their life."  We also know that young people suffer temporary hearing loss after attending concerts or nightclubs, but it's also " t he most common injury arising from the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq ." Even so, and "despite the fact that it is a very distressing condition and can affect people's lifestyle and quality of life, around 94% of patients are simply told that nothing can be done to alleviate the condition ."  Professor Susan Holmes of the Canterbury Christ Church University at Kent, in the UK, goes on to say: Tinnitus is a widespread condition that affects millions of people across the world and there is considerable debate ...

A  BBC article  from way back in 2008 confirmed that research for a tinnitus cure is ongoing throughout the world. One British audiologist believes a noise-suppressive drug with no side effects will be found within 20 years.  A neurologist in Germany, who believes tinnitus sufferers have overactive hearing cells , is trying to normalize them by creating a magnetic field over the patient's head. The magnetic stimulation reduces neural activity and diminishes unwanted sound. Does it work?  "Only one patient so far has been completely cured but many have found the volume of their tinnitus reduced ." In Belgium, 30 patients have had electrodes implanted into their brains to permanently normalize overactive neurons, with some successful results.  For example, one woman, who had a permanent 80Db ringing in her head and felt suicidal, was the first tinnitus sufferer to have the operation. The outcome?  "The first night I fell asleep. I woke up and didn't hear a...

When the noise travels with you , inside your head, you have tinnitus.  If, on the other hand, you can literally run away from the noise , then you may be actually hearing something that's in your environment (older model wind turbines can create a hum, for instance).  Some people have very sensitive hearing and really suffer from hearing noise that nobody else hears. Check out this article about a British woman plagued by a 'hum' that no one else heard. The article details her story and goes on to report that it's "estimated that between 20 and 30per cent of the population suffer from some sort of noise sensitivity and at least 10,000 people hear The Hum."  What's problematic about hearing a noise that doesn't come from inside your head is that only "about a third of cases the specific cause of the noise can be identified." Don't forget to read the comments at the end of the article -- they're interesting and might well be helpful....

Over a decade ago, doctors at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit were saying they can pinpoint the area of the brain that is activated by tinnitus .  By using a special scanner to examine the brain, they hope it will allow more targeted therapies to be developed -- which might include implanting microchips to interfere with tinnitus signals sent out by the brain itself.  Imaging systems currently used to study tinnitus are simply not as sophisticated as the one being used in this study, and can only provide general information.  The research doctor compared the accuracy of the imaging as being "... like having the lights on in only the city of Detroit, compared to having the lights on in the entire state of Michigan." Although not a sure-fire cure, a UK doctor (where 2.3 million people suffer from moderate or severe tinnitus) says " this work could potentially solve a further piece of the tinnitus puzzle ."  Read the full article BBC News . Try Quietum Plus

TRT ( tinnitus retraining therapy ) combines retraining (perception modification) and sound enrichment (masking) in an attempt to achieve two goals: To stop a sufferer's negative reaction to the ringing in their ears. To lower and hopefully end the sufferer's perception of the noise. It is within TRT that the current school of thought that there's no cure for tinnitus is questioned. Advocates say that when a tinnitus sufferer is retrained successfully, it means that the person's awareness of the sounds in their ears is back to the level it was before the noise became a problem.  This is again going back to the idea that everyone has tinnitus ; the problem of the condition only crops up when a person (1) perceives the noise; and (2) the perception of that noise negatively impacts that person's life.  Unfortunately, these ideas in no way help those many tinnitus sufferers who have tried TRT (and many other therapies) and have not found relief.  However, it does i...

Tinnitus Masker is hardware you can download (there's a free trial so you can try before buying).  It's supposed to help mask your tinnitus by allowing you to mix sounds together to create either real time or recorded masking relief.  The theory here is that as each person's tinnitus is unique, pre-recorded masking sounds simply cannot be adjusted minutely enough to perfectly suit the individual user.  But by adjusting the output of each sound exactly to your specific requirements, you'll hopefully be able to create a masking effect that works for you and which can be adjusted (if need be) over time as your tinnitus changes.  Disclaimer: I haven't tried this product nor am I an affiliate. I just thought it looked promising. If you've tried this or any other masking device, please leave a comment as to whether or not it was of any help. Try Quietum Plus

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was originally passed with help from disabled Vietnam war hero, Richard Pimentel . Richard lost most of his hearing in Vietnam, in addition to being left with permanent tinnitus.   If anyone in your life needs to know the vagaries and frustrations of tinnitus, recommend the 2007 movie of Richard's life called The Music Within . It shows in heartbreaking detail the confusion, lack of understanding and overt bigotry faced by disabled people like Richard and like his great friend, Art, a genius in a wheelchair, crippled by cerebral palsy.  Left too profoundly deaf to be considered having any hearing at all (yet able to hear certain registers as well as the non-stop noises in his head) Richard was denied a U.S. college education by the very government for which he had nearly lost his life.  And thus it began with simple employment advocacy for disabled friends and fellow veterans (and the story continues to this day).  ...

People who have constant noise in their head and ears will do just about anything to get it to stop or at least lower the volume. In addition to exercise and yoga, both of which address stress and improves blood flow, try cutting alcohol and caffeine from your diet .  If you are experimenting with caffeine-free living, it's important to remember that it's not just your coffee and chocolate products that are "verboten". Tea contains caffeine as do many soft drinks and even medicines .  If you smoke and suffer from tinnitus, there's another good reason for you to stop smoking. Nicotine (even in smokeless tobacco) reduces blood flow to the brain which can worsen tinnitus.  Although ginkgo biloba (an blood thinning Asian herbal supplement common in Europe and used as an antioxidant and memory booster) has not been proven to relieve tinnitus, it does help with blood circulation -- and getting good blood flow to the ears is important for healthy hearing. The only...

Every person's tinnitus -- and suffering -- is unique.  Some people hear it in just one ear, some in both. Some hear different sounds in each ear, like one tinnitus sufferer who had a high decibel ringing in one ear with a sound like a gentle roar in the other.  Sometimes the sound seems be be located in one ear, but it's such a high frequency and so continuous, that if there is a low volume sound in the other ear, it's basically impossible to ascertain.  Most people with tinnitus do talk about cycles of intensity , with the ringing or flute and whistle sound being fairly quiet one day followed by several days of increased levels of volume. Ticking, ringing and other sounds can come and go, in addition to the constant roar , or might be the only sound heard.  Sometimes the noise is so loud as to be actually painful (compared to the piercing shriek of a smoke alarm) and when this goes on unabated, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no end in sight, the results a...

Tinnitus sufferers often say the noise suddenly stops and (just as suddenly) starts up again.  Although the reprieves from the otherwise unceasing noise (which one person described as loud and invasive as a smoke alarm) are wonderful, people with tinnitus know the "sounds of silence" won't last.  The length of time that the noise stops varies, but is often quoted as being a few hours although some are taunted by a cessation of noise that lasts only a few seconds before it starts up again. The opposite phenomenon happens too -- new sounds are heard by tinnitus sufferers. Like the temporary silences, the new sounds don't tend to last very long, but the concern is always that it will join the cacophony of other noises permanently.  What about your noises? Do you ever hear nothing? Try Quietum Plus

If you developed tinnitus after a sinus infection , you may wish to try humming or chanting (loudly, with your mouth closed) for at least 15 minutes, three times a day, for a minimum of two weeks.  Actually, even if you don't think sinusitis was the tinnitus culprit, go ahead and hum -- it can't hurt. Not only does the extra air rushing through the nasal cavities help reduce the risk of sinus infections , but the level of nitric oxide production increases by some 15 times. And that's good.  People with healthy sinuses usually have high levels of nitric oxide levels (nitric oxide being the body's response to inflammation). The sound vibrations created by the humming or chanting moves the air between the sinus membranes and nasal passages.  It's actually this air movement that allows sinuses to drain properly , which in turn is how the risk of sinus infections is reduced.   If you do notice a decrease in the noise of your tinnitus, you then may want to conside...

More than 60 years ago, an experiment proved that nearly everyone has tinnitus. In 1953 Heller and Bergman performed an simple and classic experiment . They placed 80 tinnitus-free individuals (university members) in a soundproof room for 5 minutes each, asking them to report on any sounds that might be heard. The subjects thought they might be undergoing a hearing test, but actually experienced 5 minutes of total silence. A full 93% reported hearing buzzing, pulsing, whistling sounds in the head or ears identical to those reported by tinnitus sufferers .   This simple experiment shows almost anyone can detect background electrical activity present in every living nerve cell in the hearing pathways as a sound. Although some areas of the auditory system may be more active than others, every neuron will contribute to some extent to the final perception of tinnitus.   It's your reaction to the sound or sounds that is so distressing. If you are able to accept the sounds as ...

While tinnitus is said to have no cure per se, there are some things you can do to help yourself as you explore treatment options.  For example, relaxation therapy can make the tinnitus sounds easier to ignore. Stress makes the volume of ringing in the ears louder, so while the sounds will not disappear through yoga or tai-chi, learning how to meditate will help lower anxiety which will in turn make the sound somewhat more manageable to live with.  A simple exercise to start out with is to focus "past the noise" of the tinnitus and instead on the sound of your breathing. If that's impossible to do, try it initially with white noise or natural sounds in the background.  Exercise is known to help people who suffer from clinical depression -- a condition that is very much associated with tinnitus sufferers. The physical well-being that exercise brings about lowers stress and again may make it easier to ignore and cope with the noise of your tinnitus. Concentrating on so...

   Neuromonics is a treatment device for tinnitus developed by an Australian audiologist, Dr. Paul Davis.   It's sometimes looked at as a potential cure, and the medical device company that   sells the device claims an 83% success rate, with tinnitus reducing by 50%-90%.   Neuromonics works by retraining neural pathways in the brain. As a result of the   retraining, a person's auditory system is desensitized to the sound of their tinnitus.   Basically, you wear headphones and listen to the small device. It plays four tracks of   music and ambient nature sounds and has a neural stimulus treatment overlaying the soothing music, which targets the brain's auditory pathways -- helping the brain filter out the disturbing tinnitus perception.  Through testing, the music and overlaying neural stimulus on each device is customized to the patient's audiological profile and personal tinnitus pitch for each ear.  One t...

Some people with tinnitus find that other sounds, pleasant ones such as nature sounds or wind chimes, played at a volume slightly below that of the ringing in their ears, can help with the condition.  The idea of an alternate noise is not to block out the sounds, but to create a sort of diversion – something to concentrate on listening to instead of the tinnitus.  The goal is to get so used to the tinnitus as a background noise that you don’t hear it.  There are many products on the market from which you can choose to experiment to see if this is the right approach for you. White sound generators can be anything from a fan that you already have in your house or a channel of static on the television or radio to tabletop devices and electronic ear-inserts with myriad sounds to try.  If the distraction tactic seems to help, you should start reducing the volume of the white sound generators slowly, over a number of months. The ultimate goal here is twofold:  First, ...

Tinnitus can affect anyone ; however, older people are usually affected more than children . If a child does have tinnitus, it's possible that he or she might not be bothered by the condition as much as an adult, simply because children tend accept the condition as the norm, not knowing anything different.  Kids and adults alike can suffer hearing damage and loss, though, and are at risk for tinnitus as well, if they are consistently exposed to very loud noises . You'll know if you're at risk if you need to shout to be heard (like at most concerts or bars and discos, but also at sporting events) or if your ears actually hurt.  How many of us haven't experienced that "muted" hearing phenomenon after leaving a rock concert ?  Although a one-time exposure to loud noise does not necessarily cause tinnitus, it's certainly possible that the cumulative damage from even short-lived incidents of loud noise exposure over the years can be quite serious. A comparis...

If you have constant or intermittent noises in your head (or in one or both of your ears), you may have a condition known as tinnitus. The noises can be anything from ringing and buzzing to clicking or chirping all the way to whistling or hissing sounds. For every person who suffers from tinnitus, the description of the condition will be unique to that person. It's important to note that tinnitus is a condition, not a disease. It refers to the perception of ringing, buzzing, or other sounds in the absence of an external source. Tinnitus can be caused by a variety of factors, including hearing loss, exposure to loud noise, certain medications, and underlying health conditions.  And it's not a noise you can run from because there's nothing making the noise in your immediate environment -- tinnitus really is all in your head . Tinnitus ranges from an annoyance to a debilitating and life-altering problem .  Here's a TED Ed video by Marc Fagelson that explains tinnitus, wh...