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?

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Profile picture for bobbyboomer @bobbyboomer

Still working.

It hasn't completely cured it, but it's about 90% better.

Often my ears are completely quiet, sometimes a little hiss, but never the constant high pitched tone I used to have.

There are times when they still ring. For some reason, if I get up in the middle of the night to urinate, they are often ringing but gone by morning. Also sometimes when the weather is very disturbed, they will ring a little.

But even when they do ring, it's never as extreme as they used to be.

For me, it works. For others? I have no idea.

Of course, the disclaimer is that I am not dispensing medical advice here. From my research, it seems safe, and my doc thinks it's OK for me. Check with yours.

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And you do 2000 main morning and 1000 mg later in day ?
Any relief I can get will help …I have ordered Taurine and it should arrive today..

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At first, I took 2,000 in the morning, on an empty stomach, with a full glass of water, and another 1,000 later in the day, also on an empty stomach with water.

I read somewhere that it's better to take amino acids without food. The reasoning was they get absorbed better that way. True or false? I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to take them solo.

I read tests on https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ that they gave people 3,000 for 6 months with no problem, and then the test ended.

So after 6 months, not knowing if there could be a long term problem, I cut back to 2,000 in the morning. I read elsewhere that 2K per day is GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe).

It works gradually. After a number of months (I forget how many) I stopped taking it, figuring, it wasn't working, and in a few days, my tinnitus came back big time.

I had forgotten what a PITA it was until it returned. Discontinuing reminded me.

It's probably been years now, and I still take 2,000 first thing in the morning. It's gotten to the point, where over 90% of the time, I don't even know I have tinnitus.

Right now it's so low, that I have to stop moving, and shut my eyes to hear the slightest hiss in my right ear. For all practical purposes, my ears have been quiet for a few days now, except if I need to get up in the middle of the night. I wonder if reclining has anything to do with that.

Bob

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Profile picture for bobbyboomer @bobbyboomer

At first, I took 2,000 in the morning, on an empty stomach, with a full glass of water, and another 1,000 later in the day, also on an empty stomach with water.

I read somewhere that it's better to take amino acids without food. The reasoning was they get absorbed better that way. True or false? I don't know, but it doesn't hurt to take them solo.

I read tests on https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ that they gave people 3,000 for 6 months with no problem, and then the test ended.

So after 6 months, not knowing if there could be a long term problem, I cut back to 2,000 in the morning. I read elsewhere that 2K per day is GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe).

It works gradually. After a number of months (I forget how many) I stopped taking it, figuring, it wasn't working, and in a few days, my tinnitus came back big time.

I had forgotten what a PITA it was until it returned. Discontinuing reminded me.

It's probably been years now, and I still take 2,000 first thing in the morning. It's gotten to the point, where over 90% of the time, I don't even know I have tinnitus.

Right now it's so low, that I have to stop moving, and shut my eyes to hear the slightest hiss in my right ear. For all practical purposes, my ears have been quiet for a few days now, except if I need to get up in the middle of the night. I wonder if reclining has anything to do with that.

Bob

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Bob,
Thank you so much for all the details.
I started taurine last night asap after it arrived.
Took 2000 mg this morning with a full glass of water.
Will do the other dose later.
I am drinking black coffee but no food.
Did you wait awhile after taking before you had coffee ?
If this works for me your post will have changed my life more than you can imagine.
Thank you again .
I will report back when I see results.
Coffee ok in your opinion ?
I have hope now for some relief from this never ending noise.
Virginia

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Profile picture for virg71 @virg71

Bob,
Thank you so much for all the details.
I started taurine last night asap after it arrived.
Took 2000 mg this morning with a full glass of water.
Will do the other dose later.
I am drinking black coffee but no food.
Did you wait awhile after taking before you had coffee ?
If this works for me your post will have changed my life more than you can imagine.
Thank you again .
I will report back when I see results.
Coffee ok in your opinion ?
I have hope now for some relief from this never ending noise.
Virginia

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I don't know if coffee is OK or not.

I usually have the Taurine+water first thing. Then I go about a few morning tasks, brush teeth, etc, and then have a cup of green tea followed by a cup of black tea.

I drink coffee later in the day.

But that's just me.

I found this:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24615238/
It seems Taurine might diminish the effects of caffeine, but they are talking energy drink doses of caffeine.

I generally trust the National Institute of Health, pubmed site more than others. Since it's peer-reviewed in scientific journals, it's open to scrutiny by other scientists. That doesn't mean the author does not have an agenda, but it lessens it.

open pubmed and put taurine in the search box and there are plenty of articles written about it.

I do hope this works for you. Remember, it works gradually, and you won't know for a couple of months.

Over the years my tinnitus had diminished at least 90% and I have many quiet days, when before taurine, I had none.

If it works for you, I'll be happy for you.

Bob

REPLY
Profile picture for bobbyboomer @bobbyboomer

I don't know if coffee is OK or not.

I usually have the Taurine+water first thing. Then I go about a few morning tasks, brush teeth, etc, and then have a cup of green tea followed by a cup of black tea.

I drink coffee later in the day.

But that's just me.

I found this:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24615238/
It seems Taurine might diminish the effects of caffeine, but they are talking energy drink doses of caffeine.

I generally trust the National Institute of Health, pubmed site more than others. Since it's peer-reviewed in scientific journals, it's open to scrutiny by other scientists. That doesn't mean the author does not have an agenda, but it lessens it.

open pubmed and put taurine in the search box and there are plenty of articles written about it.

I do hope this works for you. Remember, it works gradually, and you won't know for a couple of months.

Over the years my tinnitus had diminished at least 90% and I have many quiet days, when before taurine, I had none.

If it works for you, I'll be happy for you.

Bob

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Thanks again,
I will post again when things change…I appreciate your comments and reply’s.
Virginia

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My pleasure. I truly hope it works for you.

If it does, please share it with others.

Bob

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Hi @scottk I am so glad I run into your thread because I have been wanting to share an excellent resource that my friend recommended. A little background... I am an audiology student and started experiencing tinnitus in my second semester of grad school (probably stress-induced). As you would think, as an audiology student I would kind of know what to do about it but to be honest, I was so desperate and frustrated about it until my friend recommended Treble Health. It is a tinnitus management practice with audiologists who are tinnitus experts. Really a GAME CHANGER. I just checked their website and they are actually having a Cyber Monday offer!! $500 off on their tinnitus management packet. I wish they had this sale when I purchased--ugh! Anyways, you should take advantage of it. I highly recommend it.
Link to their website: https://treblehealth.com/cyber-monday/
Feel free to share it with more people! It is important to share good resources with everyone who feels frustrated about hearing a constant ringing in their heads :/

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Stop taking any antibiotics - that is what is 'messing up your GI track' (microbiome) and also putting a damper on your recovery mode. Restart with a new frame of mind. The tinnitus comes from the past - it is a reminder of what injuries have been done to your inner ear/brain and results in a 'noise' that will always be there. You will just have to ignore it. Use different sounds to keep it from annoying you by training you brain to listen to other noises and sound that are more pleasant to hear. NEXT: use daily cranberry pills to stabilize your bladder so that you don't get UTI's. Change your diet by drinking - first thing in the morning green juice. Either celery or cucumber juice which is alkaline and NOT acid. This always needs to be done along with drinking a glass or cup of water. HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE is what you need. Eat oatmeal, dark colored fruits and veggies, NO SODA at any time. NONE. NO alcohol at any time either. You may have a few bites of dark cocoa - 85% twice a week only. ALWAYS add GINGER to your food - this is the root ginger that you peel and cut up and put into your green juice, tea and water all day long. Ginger will heal your gut. If you eat bread - only sourdough is what you can consume. Both of you can benefit from eating this since I have been doing this for 4 years to keep my C.diff gut under control through the COVID, FLU and RSV season. If you want a better guide for what else to do...check out "Life Changing Foods" by Anthony Williams. This book will give you plenty information to help you on your new Journey in 2023. Don't be discouraged or dismayed. Doctors can only do so much. Learn, experiment, discover, journal, trust your instincts and give this a try. Let me know how you are doing. We can stay in touch or you can move forward as this will take time...since I have been doing this since 1986.... Eloise

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Hugs go a long way and smiles. Keep your shoulders down and your chin up. Look your journey in the face and march forward. It will be well worth the steps you are taking. We all are behind you and have your back!

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Profile picture for Helen, Volunteer Mentor @naturegirl5

Yes, I did not focus on the medications in my reply but that is very true. Antibiotics were not the culprit for me. Tinnitus is also genetic and my father had tinnitus and the same pattern of hearing loss that I have. And then there is the noise factor because we live in a noisy world. Oy - don't get me started on noise (I'm the baby boomer generation and how many rock concerts did I go to and stand right in front of the speakers?). Many antibiotics, in particular, affect the cells in the inner ear (cochlea for hearing and semicircular canals for vestibular process). There are known side effects which are usually indicated in packaging information, and with some of these medications the tinnitus is permanent. (Full disclosure here: I trained as a speech-language pathologist and hearing is part of our training). But other medications besides antibiotics can cause tinnitus that is reversible when you stop the medication. It just depends on what a person is taking. Like you, nurseheadakes, a pharmacist is a good resource for this information if your physician doesn't have the answers you want.

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Mine is influenced by sleep and stress and my neck is out of wack. I take water pills, coz I had attack of spinning, throwing up, everthing & they said I have Menieres.
I have Graves’ autoimmune , some TED but it’s gotten better. hyperacusis, and osteoporosis.

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