Tinnitus Help - Stop the Ringing in Your Ears

A U.S.-based company called NeuroSystec has developed a new medicine (NST-001) to combat tinnitus. Overactive nerves thought to cause tinnitus are calmed by the drug, administered by using a drug pump implanted in the ear. Although tinnitus has many causes including damage from loud noise(s) as well as adverse side effects of ototoxic medications (including aspirin), the bottom line is the resulting release of a brain chemical (glutamate) causes nerve cells to become hyperactive . The affected nerves in the ear then send faulty messages to the brain, resulting in tinnitus. The new drug "is thought to block the production of excessive glutamate, in turn reducing this rogue nerve firing. Researchers claim it may even result in the elimination of tinnitus." There's been "a small pilot study on human volunteers in Germany, [and] the majority of patients given the drug reported a significant reduction of tinnitus." However, "when the treatment ended, the

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

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 are