Controlling Tinnitus: What works for you?

Posted by scottk @scottk, Jul 1, 2019

Hello: Has anyone on this site had any luck with controlling tinnitus? I see certain things advertised but always sceptical. Any thoughts/ideas?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Hearing Loss Support Group.

At this time I do not know of a cure. Wearing the hearing aids helps a bit. Stay away from loud noises and less stress are both helpful. A little noise helps to muffle it. Complete silence is hard if you are trying to muffle it. It’s all right there in front of you then.

REPLY
@joangela

At this time I do not know of a cure. Wearing the hearing aids helps a bit. Stay away from loud noises and less stress are both helpful. A little noise helps to muffle it. Complete silence is hard if you are trying to muffle it. It’s all right there in front of you then.

Jump to this post

Thank you.

REPLY
@lioness

@sites Hi Welcome to our group of caring people who give suggestion on what helps them . I have had tinnitus most of my life It is a terrible problem Mine is quieter when I don't do dairy products but hard aged cheese is alright . Skim milk seems to be o.k. but not lo fat. I have tried Lipo Flavanoid in the past that helped while on it but its expensive . For me also I found when I keep active I am not bothered with it as much. Sorry this is all I can tell you . Hopefully others will chime in .

Jump to this post

Try European cheeses. Many people have a sensitivity to A1 milk (USA) and not A2 milk (Europe, Africa, Australia). It seems there is a mutation in one of the amino acids in A1 milk that make it a histidine instead of proline. Histidine turns into histimine which is what some take antihistamines to alleviate. I don't know if it works for tinnitus, but it might be worth a try for you.

REPLY
@bobbyboomer

Try European cheeses. Many people have a sensitivity to A1 milk (USA) and not A2 milk (Europe, Africa, Australia). It seems there is a mutation in one of the amino acids in A1 milk that make it a histidine instead of proline. Histidine turns into histimine which is what some take antihistamines to alleviate. I don't know if it works for tinnitus, but it might be worth a try for you.

Jump to this post

@bobbyboomer Thanks I do European cheese but what is A2 milk ? Never heard of it

REPLY
@lioness

@sites Hi Welcome to our group of caring people who give suggestion on what helps them . I have had tinnitus most of my life It is a terrible problem Mine is quieter when I don't do dairy products but hard aged cheese is alright . Skim milk seems to be o.k. but not lo fat. I have tried Lipo Flavanoid in the past that helped while on it but its expensive . For me also I found when I keep active I am not bothered with it as much. Sorry this is all I can tell you . Hopefully others will chime in .

Jump to this post

Hi, thank you for the suggestions it’s very much appreciated!
Stites

REPLY
@joangela

At this time I do not know of a cure. Wearing the hearing aids helps a bit. Stay away from loud noises and less stress are both helpful. A little noise helps to muffle it. Complete silence is hard if you are trying to muffle it. It’s all right there in front of you then.

Jump to this post

Hi, thank you for your suggestion! I avoid loud noises and crowds if possible.
Many thanks,
Stites

REPLY
@ethanmcconkey

Hi @stites I'd like to join @lioness in welcoming you to Connect. You may have noticed I moved your post to this existing discussion on controlling tinnitus symptoms so that you can Connect with others who have similar experiences. Simply click VIEW & REPLY in your email notification to get to you post.

That must be so frustrating to have to retire from a job you love due to this condition.

I'd like to introduce you to fellow Connect members @bobbyboomer @nurseheadakes and @scottk as they have experience with tinnitus and may be able to offer you support.

Back to you @stites what have been some of the suggestions give to you by doctors?

Jump to this post

Hi, my ENT did 2 surgeries on my inner ear and opened up my eustation tube. He than put a more permanent ear tube in for draining to help prevent further ear infections. My pain has been less but my hearing has not improved or the tinnitus. He also suggested Accupunture. I tried it for 6 sessions but again no improvements except my neck felt a little better. At this time the tinnitus is so loud it brings on headaches and lack of sleep. I have tried keeping track of food, meds, stress to figure out spikes but truly I cannot get a handle on this and it’s been six months now. Thank you for any other suggestions. I’m open to other ideas.
Sincerely,
Stites

REPLY

Try keeping a diary or calendar with each day colored to show the kind of day you've had (good, so-so, bad, awful). Note ANYTHING you did out of the ordinary--diet, stress, meds, weather, lack of sleep, allergens (esp. inhaled), exercise--again, ANYTHING unusual for you. You may see a pattern over time. Each of us has a trigger or triggers that make all our symptoms worse. Once we've learned what triggers bad days, we can work to eliminate or avoid the trigger(s). I have Meniere's (diagnosed for certain by Dr. F. Owen Black over 40 years ago) and all my symptoms including tinnitus are lessened if I increase the amount or frequency of hormone replacement meds (estrogen and progesterone). As I got older, I was able to reduce meds to a quarter of what I took almost 40 years ago every third day instead of every day. However, every time the Meniere's monster beats his way out of the closet, I need to temporarily increase meds. The first symptom is a big increase in tinnitus, from the usual background whooshing in concert with my pulse to noise so loud I can't sleep. The T usually begins to lessen within a couple of hours of taking hormones. For me, the only trigger is abnormally low hormone levels. And, yes, I have had breast cancer--which is a walk in the park compared to the hell of Meniere's. The other certainty is that, over time, you actually will become pretty accustomed to T. I know you don't want to hear that because it doesn't sound like a solution, but it is part of the solution, just as, with daily vestibular rehab (VRT) you will learn to function pretty normally with a compromised balance system.

REPLY
@joyces

Try keeping a diary or calendar with each day colored to show the kind of day you've had (good, so-so, bad, awful). Note ANYTHING you did out of the ordinary--diet, stress, meds, weather, lack of sleep, allergens (esp. inhaled), exercise--again, ANYTHING unusual for you. You may see a pattern over time. Each of us has a trigger or triggers that make all our symptoms worse. Once we've learned what triggers bad days, we can work to eliminate or avoid the trigger(s). I have Meniere's (diagnosed for certain by Dr. F. Owen Black over 40 years ago) and all my symptoms including tinnitus are lessened if I increase the amount or frequency of hormone replacement meds (estrogen and progesterone). As I got older, I was able to reduce meds to a quarter of what I took almost 40 years ago every third day instead of every day. However, every time the Meniere's monster beats his way out of the closet, I need to temporarily increase meds. The first symptom is a big increase in tinnitus, from the usual background whooshing in concert with my pulse to noise so loud I can't sleep. The T usually begins to lessen within a couple of hours of taking hormones. For me, the only trigger is abnormally low hormone levels. And, yes, I have had breast cancer--which is a walk in the park compared to the hell of Meniere's. The other certainty is that, over time, you actually will become pretty accustomed to T. I know you don't want to hear that because it doesn't sound like a solution, but it is part of the solution, just as, with daily vestibular rehab (VRT) you will learn to function pretty normally with a compromised balance system.

Jump to this post

Hi, Thanks for sharing your story. I hope learning to live with this nightmare isn't the end result for me and many others. I have been following Clinical trials ~ Frequency Therapeutics and a drug that has been developed called FX-322. You can google it and see what you think.
Thanks,
Stites

REPLY

Remain skeptical. Apart from mind training to distract from the annoying sounds I haven't heard of anything better than placebo. White sound etc is meant to help. I just pretend it's a sign of intelligence

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.